§ 6. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey) (LD)How many general practitioner vacancies there are in London; and when he expects Greater London to have sufficient GPs to meet residents' needs. [148789]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Hutton)Between April 2002 and March 2003, a total of 459 general practitioner posts were advertised in London. Overall, NHS primary care capacity is expanding in London. There has been an increase of 175 GPs in London since 1999, London primary care trusts are planning to recruit more than 200 additional GPs by March 2006.
§ Simon HughesGiven that the Minister will accept that people, especially the homeless and people with particular needs, still face considerable problems in some areas in initially finding a GP and finding another GP if they are removed from a list, will he think of an initiative—for example, talking to the teaching hospitals in London—to encourage those who graduate to come and do a period as a general practitioner in London, even if their long-term career plan is to work in hospitals elsewhere?
§ Mr. HuttonYes, I will certainly do so, and I will let the hon. Gentleman know of the proposals that the chief medical officer published last year for reforming postgraduate medical education and training in England, which will provide a welcome new focus on training more doctors in a primary care setting. I hope very strongly that that will ensure that more doctors coming out of our medical schools will want to pursue such training. I will certainly pursue the hon. Gentleman's suggestion.
§ Mr. Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)My area has a high vacancy factor, but that is not the only problem that we face. We also face the difficulties of many single-handed practices and the lack of the broad range of services that can be provided locally. What action will my hon. Friend take through the new GP contract to deal with some of those shortcomings in services provided by single-handed GP practices?
§ Mr. HuttonI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I would be the first to acknowledge that there are still problems in many parts of London in recruiting the primary care staff whom we need. However, we are making progress, including progress in his constituency. The new general 1205 medical services contract will certainly help matters. It is a more flexible contract that does not tie resources precisely to the number of GPs currently in post, but instead tries to ally the needs of communities with their resources. It will give primary care trusts greater flexibility and will be allied with a 33 per cent. increase in resources for primary care. That, too, will address my hon. Friend's concerns.