Lib Dems announce five year plan to give patients in East Sussex right to see a GP within a week

A five year plan to give patients in East Sussex the\\\ right to see their GP within a week or 24-hours if in urgent need will be in the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto the party has today announced.

Last year over 719,000 appointments in East Sussex took longer than two weeks to happen, under the Liberal Democrats plans every single patient will have the right to see their GP in seven days

James MacCleary, Liberal Democrat candidate for Lewes, has said that this Conservative government had “abandoned local health services” and called for a “fair deal for this community’s patients”

The Liberal Democrats have today (24th May) announced that their five year plan to give patients in East Sussex a legal right to see a GP within a week or 24-hours if in urgent need will be in their General Election manifesto.

Last year there were 719,342 appointments that took over two weeks in East Sussex, equating to 1 in 5 appointments. This included a staggering 250,163 which took longer than a month, 7% of all appointments.

The number of disturbingly long waits in East Sussex has been getting worse. In 2022, there were 580,329 over two weeks, or 17.3% of all appointments. Last year this shot up drastically to 719,342 or 20.1% of all appointments.

The Liberal Democrats have said that under their plans, patients will no longer be left waiting for an appointment and risk their conditions getting worse.

The party will deliver the plan by:

    Increasing the number of full-time equivalent GPs by 8,000, half by boosting recruitment and half from retaining more experienced GPs.
    Freeing up GPs’ time by giving more prescribing rights and public health advisory services to qualified pharmacists, nurse practitioners and paramedics.
    Introducing a universal 24/7 GP booking system.
    Removing top-down bureaucracy to let practices hire the staff they need and invest in training.

Local Liberal Democrats said that this Conservative government had “abandoned local health services” and called for a “fair deal for this community's patients”.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Lewes constituency, James MacCleary said: “This Conservative government has driven our area’s local health services into the ground. Worse still, Lewes' local MP is a government health minister who has just stood by and let it happen. Thousands of patients in East Sussex are facing agonisingly long waits, often in terrible pain whilst waiting to see their GP.

“The Conservative party have proven themselves totally unfit to run our NHS. They have abandoned local health services and it is patients bearing the brunt of their neglect. Every day I hear new stories from residents about long waits for GP appointments. We desperately need investment in new health centres in local towns like Polegate and Seaford but all we get are empty promises. I have a record of getting action on health and played a leading role in using funding to transform an old supermarket in Newhaven into a new health hub. Work starts on that later this year.

“It should not be too much to ask for patients to be able to see their GP when they need to. That is why the Liberal Democrats have committed to a fair deal for our local community’s patients and legal right to see a GP within a week.”

Details: on the Liberal Democrats plan for patients to have a legal right to see a GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need:

    Enshrine a new right in the NHS constitution to see a GP or the most appropriate practice staff member within seven days, or within 24 hours.
    Increase the number of full-time equivalent GPs by 8,000, half by boosting recruitment and half from retaining more experienced GPs:
    Increasing training places for GPs.
    Making it more attractive for junior doctors to become GPs once they’ve been trained, including career development and training programmes.
    Retain experienced GPs and help them stay in the profession.
    Launching a scheme to encourage GPs and nurses who’ve left the NHS to return.
    Give everyone 70+ and everyone with long-term health conditions access to a named GP.
    Free up GPs’ time by giving more prescribing rights and public health advisory services to qualified pharmacists, nurse practitioners and paramedics.
    Introduce a universal 24/7 GP booking system.
    Remove top-down bureaucracy to let practices hire the staff they need and invest in training.

The data from the House of Commons Library can be found here. The NHS data measures the time between when the appointment was booked and when it took place.