§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what health authority areas in England have recently identified difficulties in recruiting general practitioners; [24006]
(2) what steps his Department intends to take to increase the supply of general practitioners in England. [24007]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested on health authorities that have recently identified difficulties in recruiting general practitioners is not available. Information on vacancies is available in the GP Recruitment, Retention and Vacancy Survey. Copies are available in the Library or at www.doh.gov.uk/stats/ gprrvsurvey2001.htm.
The NHS Plan includes targets for at least 2,000 extra GPs and 450 extra GP registrars, since increased to 550, by 2004. The latest information available shows that on 30 September 2000 there had been a 9.1 per cent. increase in the number of GP registrars, to 1,659. This is the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest annual percentage increase for 20 years.
In order to deliver the recruitment targets a number of initiatives are under way. Various recruitment and retention initiatives are being pursued that are aimed at encouraging qualified GPs into, or return to, practice. They include: the Golden Hello scheme for those GPs taking up their first substantive appointment; the highly successful GP retainer scheme on which are around 1,120 GPs; the introduction of up to 20 days a year of protected time for higher professional training to help ease the transition from training to general practice; improving working lives with new measures for maternity and paternity leave and NHS child care; and the Cabinet Office review aimed to eliminate the amount of non-clinical paperwork and bureaucracy overheads.
Last month we announced the lifting of the funding bar on recruiting non-European Economic Area doctors to GP registrar posts. To further increase supply, the Home Office's Highly Skilled Migrant Entry Programme now includes provision to facilitate the recruitment and retention of suitably qualified overseas doctors who wish to work as general practitioners for the national health service.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment his Department has made of the standard of general practitioner surgery; and what percentage have full disabled access and facilities; [24008]
(2) what funds are available for improvement of (a) general practitioner surgeries and (b) disabled access and facilities at general practitioner surgeries. [24009]
§ Mr. HuttonA study undertaken by the Valuation Office agency on behalf of the Department indicates that around 82 per cent. of general practitioner premises have good to average disabled access. General practitioners can apply to their primary care trust or group for grants 935W towards the cost of improving access to and within their premises. Alternatively, GPs can owner-occupy or lease modern replacement properties that comply with access and other building standards. Costs are met from a variety of national health service funding sources.