Labour will pay GPs more to let patients see the doctor of their choice, it has emerged.
The party is planning to end a “like it or lump it” approach to the NHS, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting promising patients more control over their own healthcare.
Mr Streeting is also promising to reverse the “managed decline” of the NHS if Labour wins power next year.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Streeting said the Government under PM Rishi Sunak and health secretary Steve Barclay is in “too weak a position to stand up for patients’ interests”.
He said: “Fewer patients today are able to see the doctor of their choice, making do with whoever is available.
Labour will give patients back control over their own healthcare. No doubt there will be opposition. But we can overcome opposition to patient choice, providing that we give GPs the tools to do the job— Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting
“Why should someone who prefers to see their GP face to face have to make do with a phone call? A public service shouldn’t be telling the public, ‘Like it or lump it’.
“Labour will give patients back control over their own healthcare. No doubt there will be opposition. But we can overcome opposition to patient choice, providing that we give GPs the tools to do the job.”
Labour analysis of official figures showed two-thirds of patients rarely or never get to see their preferred doctor, up from half in 2018.
One in six patients did not get an appointment at all the last time they tried, the party said.
Labour’s plans would see GPs paid more for respecting the wishes of their patients, with funding redistributed to favour practices with a strong record on continuity of care and respecting patient preferences.
According to Mr Streeting, Labour would reverse the decline in GPs by doubling the number of medical schools and providing mental health support in “every school and community”.
Labour’s plan to boost GPs would include “providing mental health support in every school and community, letting patients book appropriate specialist appointments or tests without a GP referral and cutting red tape to expand the role of pharmacists”.
Mr Streeting said: “As well as giving patients the choice of how they see their GP, Labour will bring back the family doctor, so patients can see the same GP if they choose to.
“Labour will do things differently. More resources must be met by a better deal for patients.
“There has to be some give and take. The crisis in the NHS demands it. We cannot continue with managed decline.”
