GPs will be given ‘a central role’ as the future of the NHS is developed, the primary care minister will tell Pulse LIVE London today.
Stephen Kinnock will tell the conference that ‘prioritising primary care’ is a ‘sensible’ way to relieve pressure on other struggling parts of a ‘broken NHS’. And he will stress that the Government ‘wants to work’ with the profession going forward.
Mr Kinnock will give a speech today at the conference hosting hundreds of GP delegates, and will also take questions from the audience.
He is expected to say that the 2025/26 GP contract deal is ‘just the first step’ in shifting care from hospital to community, and it will help a sector that has ‘been neglected for too long’.
Mr Kinnock will tell GPs at the conference: ‘You sit at the heart of our NHS, and you represent the front door to our NHS.
‘But you’ve been neglected for far too long – through our Plan for Change, we will bring back the family doctor.
‘When we came into office last year, we inherited: a primary care sector that was underfunded, understaffed, and in crisis; a bizarre situation where people were looking for GPs, and qualified GPs were looking for jobs.
‘And GPs spending far too much time – possibly a fifth of their working hours – in the back office pushing paper, due to poor communication with secondary care. We are committed to changing that reality – for GPs and those who need them.’
The minister’s address at Pulse’s conference comes as the Government is currently developing the 10-year plan for the NHS, due to be published in May.
Mr Kinnock will tell delegates: ‘The 10-Year Health Plan represents a major opportunity for your profession to shape the next 50 years of healthcare in this country, and beyond.’
Today England’s LMC leaders are also gathered in London for a special conference to decide on the next move for collective action in the currently-paused dispute.
The BMA paused the dispute in response to the first agreed GP contract deal for four years, but the agreement is contingent on the Government confirming that it will renegotiate the GMS contract – wholesale – by the end of its parliamentary term.
Pulse LIVE is taking place in London today, after a first day yesterday with highlights including a panel discussion on GP unemployment.
Mr Kinnock, who is the son of Labour leader Neil Kinnock, was handed the general practice brief last summer following Labour’s landslide general election win.
As well as general practice, his portfolio includes adult social care, hospital discharge and community health, among other areas.
His address takes place just weeks after the Government announced the first agreed contract deal with GPs for four years.
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