Guaranteeing GP surgeries on Medway's new housing developments
The Liberal Democrats have set out a plan that would both tackle the local GP crisis and help build the homes we need in Medway.
John Castle, spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats said, "The two go hand-in-hand. It’s the fact that people know that too often new developments don't come with the services and infrastructure they need. So they just make it even harder to see a GP, to get their kids into a good school or to get around without being stuck in traffic.
So if we’re going to solve the housing crisis – we have to address those concerns. We have to reassure people that they will be able to access the healthcare they need – whether that’s the people already here or the new families who will move into Medway.
Our plan would end that vicious cycle, by guaranteeing the funding is in place to hire GPs as soon as the first new homes are sold. It would give a better deal to existing communities and to new residents moving in. It would help to rebuild trust and get the community buy-in we need for new homes. And it would help to tackle the GP crisis that fuels so much of the crisis across our NHS."
In communities across Medway, when new housing is built, GPs are promised but not delivered. The result is missing GP surgeries, broken trust, and huge pressure on our local services - a bad deal for residents old and new. Nationally, despite 1.5 million new homes since 2015 the total number of main GP practices has declined by over 1300. It’s perhaps not surprising that GP access is the top concern of people over the NHS at the moment.
Local Liberal Democrats state that it doesn’t have to be this way. We have high levels of unemployed and underemployed GPs and significant levels of developer money earmarked for infrastructure improvements but which currently goes unspent or unclaimed.
Liberal Democrats are clear: new housing must go hand in hand with new GPs. Under our proposals, developers would be required to build or expand existing new GP surgeries when building new housing developments, or fund this construction upfront. We’d ensure additional GP provision is made a reality, by ensuring developer levies can be used to pay the contracts (or salaries) of GPs while patients are still moving in.
Currently, local councils use developer funds to build or expand the premises of GP surgeries (though often the process is disjointed and not fit for purpose), and developers can commit to building health infrastructure as part of a development. However construction of this infrastructure often takes too long and there is usually no new money to fund the GP contract before patients move into an area, making new surgeries hard to staff. This creates a vicious circle where new patients register with over-subscribed practices elsewhere, and it never makes sense for a new GP to set up shop. Our plan - to guarantee the GP contract with developer contributions - would ensure GP surgeries are not only built, but funded and staffed from the get-go.
This is part of our infrastructure-first approach to development, and supports our campaign to rescue General Practice and ensure everyone can get an appointment within 7 days or 24 hours if urgent.
Building infrastructure first is crucial for improving people’s quality of life, strengthening community and restoring trust. The failure to deliver new health services fuels support for populists like Farage. Recent London School of Economics (LSE) research has confirmed what many already knew - where GP provision has receded and more surgeries have closed, support for the extreme right has risen.
Restoring trust, and showing we can deliver new services, and that local communities won’t just take what is doled out to them, is critical to keeping Farage out of No.10. Liberal Democrats are offering the change people really want and need - not the false promises and snakeoil of Reform UK and the Conservatives.
ENDS
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