Doctors call for extra funding to end the ‘8am scramble’ for appointments

Labour will struggle to meet its pledge to “end the 8am scramble” for doctor’s appointments without increasing core funding for GPs, a doctors’ organisation has warned.

During the election campaign, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Labour would “end the 8am scramble by allowing patients to easily book appointments to see the doctor they want, in the manner they choose”.

But the Doctors’ Association UK said more funding is needed with the organisation’s GP lead Dr Lizzie Toberty saying at least another £35 per patient per year is required to match funding levels from a decade ago.

“We receive [the same] payment per patient, per year, no matter how complex, no matter what they need doing, no matter how many appointments they have,” she told the i newspaper.

“[The] payment has not been uplifted in line with inflation or patient need, so over the years primary care has had to do more and more with less and less, which can be seen in the difficulties people have in getting to see their GP.”

While GP funding comes through several channels, compensation is also determined by the number of patients registered to each practice, regardless of need.

Recent figures reported the NHS paid an average of £164.64 for each registered patient in 2022/23.

Research from the King’s Fund released in May reported 48% of Britons wanted to “increase taxes and spend more on the NHS”.

More than five million people waited up to a week to be seen by a doctor, according to the latest official figures.

In July, the Health Secretary commissioned a comprehensive report led by health minister Lord Ara Darzi on the state of the struggling health service.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the PA news agency: “The NHS is broken and we want to shift the focus out of hospitals and into the community, fixing the front door of the NHS and ending the misery of people waiting weeks for a GP appointment.

“We have committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme and cutting red tape.

“This Government is also accepting the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s (DDRB) pay recommendation of a 6% uplift to pay and is consulting on the implementation.”

Earlier this month, the British Medical Association announced members would take industrial action over a new contract for GP surgeries in England.

In July, nearly 10,000 doctors signed an open letter to Mr Streeting, urging the Government to review the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan with a focus on staff retention, training and resource management.