The Conservatives have committed to building 100 new GP surgeries in England and boosting the number of available appointments by allowing more treatments in the community, should they retain power and win the upcoming general election.
The BBC also reported the party has promised to expand the number of treatments pharmacies can offer without people seeing their GP first so as to make it easier for patients to get the care they need and help relieve pressure on hospitals.
The commitment follows similar promises made in earlier election manifestos.
In 2015, the party committed to 5,000 GPs working in the NHS in England by 2020 and in 2019, the year before the pandemic, it said it would deliver 6,000 more doctors in general practice in England by 2024-25 to increase patient appointments, if they won that election.
However, despite these commitments, according to data from the British Medical Association (BMA), as of April 2024, there were 37,476 individual (headcount) fully qualified GPs working in the NHS in England. In full time equivalent (FTE) terms of 37.5 hours a week, this equates to 27,606 full-time fully qualified GPs.
The BMA figures show that despite an increase in the overall number of doctors working in general practice, as of April 2024 there were the equivalent of 1,759 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs than there were in September 2015 when the current data collection method began.
But the BMA added that the numbers of fully qualified GPs has recently started to increase, as in April 2024, there were 375 more fully qualified GPs than there were in April 2023.
The Conservatives’ current plans also include a proposal to expand the Pharmacy First scheme, which was launched in January and allows people in England to go to their local pharmacy for seven common conditions, rather than their GP, as well as get a prescription for the oral contraceptive pill.
Under the plans, pharmacies would also be able to offer contraceptive patches and injections, as well as treatment for more conditions, including acne and chest infections.
The Tories added this would free up 20 million GP appointments once fully rolled out.
The party has also pledged to build 50 new Community Diagnostic Centres, which it said would deliver a further 2.5 million tests a year once scaled up.
The Tories expect their plans to cost £1bn per annum which would be paid for by cutting the number of NHS managers to pre-pandemic levels and halving management consultancy spend across government.
It added an overhaul of planning guidance would also help pay for 100 new GP surgeries and 150 surgery modernisations, by ensuring health gets a bigger proportion of contributions from housing developers.
Sarah Woolnough, CEO of The King’s Fund said: “These pledges indicate a welcome direction of travel.
“Bolstering primary and community care services is likely to be welcomed by patients who would like access to care quickly and conveniently, and is also critical to achieving an effective and sustainable health and care system.
“A refocusing of the NHS towards primary and community services will free up stretched hospitals to treat the patients they are best placed to treat, thanks to many more people being diagnosed and cared for in the community.
“This re-focusing can also help diagnose conditions earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful.
“To keep pace with increasing demand due to an older and sicker population, the NHS has received additional funding in recent years.
“But while acute hospital trusts saw 27% funding growth since 2016/17, community trusts saw just half that level of growth, at 14%.
“Crucially, while the focus of these commitments is good, the funding announced today – £1bn a year by 2029/2030 – will only deliver limited changes, and must be just a first step if the government is serious about implementing this much-needed shift to primary and community health services.
“This announcement does come with a considerable sting in the tail. Funding these pledges by making cuts to NHS managers risks sabotaging the goals of the policy.
“The NHS already has a lower ratio of managers compared to other industries and a smaller administrative spend compared to other health systems globally.
“Achieving an efficient and productive health service requires experts who can streamline processes, align incentives, and create the environments for clinicians to focus on what they do best – delivering patient care.”