Clive Jones, MP for Wokingham, has accused the government of ‘not listening’ when campaigning for better GP services.
The Liberal Democrats tabled an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure bill in parliament which would make building GP surgeries and other necessary infrastructure alongside housing developments legally binding.
Wokingham has one of the greatest shortages of GPs per population level – with 2,481 patients per qualified GP.
While three new GPs have been secured through the government’s Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, Jones has said this is a’drop in the ocean’.
He questioned health secretary Wes Streeting on the amendment, which Labour MPs voted against, on June 17.
In response, the health secretary said: “Probably because being that prescriptive about every housing development is not sensible.
“I take what he says about the number of GPs, and as I have said, we do not pretend to have fixed all the problems in 11 months.
“But with respect, those are three more GPs than there were before.
“I know there is more to do, but give me time, and we will rebuild general practice for his constituents and anyone else’s.”
Jones said after the speech: “Labour is not listening to the torturous experiences we must go through to access a GP in Wokingham – like the 8am scramble.
“I will continue pushing the government to resolve the serious shortage of GPs in Wokingham and ensure this current dire situation does not happen again.”
