Ruth welcomes news that Government will be delivering for patients through GP surgery refurbs to enable more appointments locally.

• Patients in Isleworth and Brentford will benefit from over 8 million new GP appointments this year, being delivered through the Governments Plan for Change.

• Currently GPs have capacity to take on more patients but can’t because of outdated buildings limiting working spaces.

• Over 1000 GP surgeries across the country, including four locally are to be supported to modernise, backed by biggest public investment in GP facilities for five years.

Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford and Isleworth has today welcomed the Government’s announcement that patients will benefit from over 8.3 million more GP appointments each year as over a thousand doctor’s surgeries receive a bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise practices.

Local surgeries such as the Albany Practice in Brentford, Argyle Health Centre, Thornberry Road Centre in Isleworth and the Brentford Group Practice would benefit from new funding to refurbish surgeries.  Backed by the Governments major cash injection of over £102 million, over 1000 GP surgeries across the country will receive vital funding to create additional space to see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care, following years of neglect.

This represents the biggest investment in GP facilities in five years and is only possible because of the difficult but necessary choices made by the government in the Budget to invest £26 billion into the NHS. And it is another measure helping the Government shift care out of hospital and into the community, as part of its Plan for Change.

Speaking in full about this Ruth said, 

“Residents regularly tell me about their frustration after enduring the dreaded ‘8am scramble’ and the difficulty that they have in getting a GP appointment. At the last election I promised to fix GP services and bring back the family doctor.

I’m delighted that the Government is starting to deliver on that promise, with the recruitment of over 1,000 new GPs and extra funding for surgeries locally in Brentford and Isleworth.

Improving GP care helps free up pressures on other parts of our NHS and means people can get the care and support they need. I’m delighted that the Government are acting to protect our NHS and to give West London a fair deal.’’

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

“It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.

“These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.

“It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the Budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries, start tackling the 8am scramble and deliver better services for patients. The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will transform our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it.”