Kate writes a bi-weekly column for the Burton Mail. This column was originally featured in the 20th October print edition.
As we head into winter, it’s more important than ever that we look after ourselves and ensure that we are ready for the additional challenges the colder weather can bring. However, as we all know, it is more likely that we will get ill at some point during winter, and some of us will need to see a doctor as a result.
I have been speaking recently with the Staffordshire and Stoke Integrated Care Board (ICB), which is responsible for NHS delivery locally, to ask what it is doing to ensure that our local GP surgeries are providing a full-service to GP patients, including on accessing appointments.
As a Member of Parliament, I have constituents come to me when they are struggling to access medical advice and I always do whatever I can to make sure the process works better for them. I have been told by the ICB that phone lines in GP surgeries are busier than normal right now as practice staff are asking a lot more questions when a patient calls for an appointment. This is to ensure patients are signposted to the correct health professional and that the patient receives the most appropriate care.
The Government is making efforts to ensure there are more doctors in primary care with the number of GP training places increasing from 2,671 in 2014, to 4,000 trainees in 2021-22. However, it obviously takes many years to become a doctor so it is important that the system we have now is as efficient as it can possibly be.
The ICB is continuing work with local surgeries to support any issues they might have with capacity and demand. If you are struggling to access your GP, I would be interested to know so that I can raise this with the GP surgery directly and with the ICB if necessary.
Finally, it is important to emphasis, that the ICB is urging that patients with potentially serious symptoms contact their practice as soon as possible, if not a 999 medical emergency, to enable an assessment of their condition.
