§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on implementing the target for 48-hour access to an appointment with a general practitioner.[136107]
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§ Mr. HuttonAt September 2003, 93 per cent. of patients could be offered an appointment with a general practitioner within two working days. This represents considerable progress over the position in 1998, when only around 50 per cent. of people had this level of access.
§ Vera BairdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on ensuring adequate general practitioner coverage in communities without a local surgery. [136467]
§ Mr. HuttonEach local primary care trust (PCT) is under a duty to secure provision of primary medical services for all people in its area. PCTs may deploy a variety of strategies to deliver this.
England GP vacancy numbers by SHA from 2000 to 2003 2000 2001 2002 2003 England total 1,143 2,345 2,487 3,245 Of which: Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 67 117 114 166 Bedford and Hertfordshire 22 80 94 107 Birmingham and the Black Country 45 116 157 104 Cheshire and Merseyside 73 111 125 115 Country Durham and Tees Valley 34 69 101 110 Coventry,Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire 25 56 54 44 Cumbria and Lancashire 30 93 99 121 Essex 29 66 79 157 Greater Manchester 38 51 92 164 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 55 107 122 121 Kent and Medway 42 54 41 97 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 44 89 123 133 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 33 79 25 124 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 32 76 85 94 North Central London 22 78 80 53 North East London 18 55 17 104 North West London 49 60 93 78 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 28 67 60 105 Shropshire and Staffordshire 54 74 108 101 Somerset and Dorset 31 69 93 73 South East London 38 101 81 179 South West London 16 42 29 45 South West Peninsula 34 48 51 94 South Yorkshire 40 76 68 118 Surrey and Sussex 66 90 120 153 Thames Valley 43 129 95 106 Trent 67 145 174 201 West Yorkshire 68 147 107 178 Notes
1. Years prior to 2003 have been mapped to current SHA areas.
2. 2003 numbers were collected directly from primary care trusts (PCTs). Previous years vacancy number were collected from health authorities (HAs).
3. In 2003, one PCT in South West London SHA did not respond to the survey.
4. In 2002–, HAs did not respond to the survey. These made up parts of: Surrey and Sussex SHA, South West London SHA, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA and Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA.
5. In 2001–02, HAs did not respond to the survey. These made up parts of: Surrey and Sussex SHA and South West London SHA
6. In 2000–04, HAs did not respond to the survey. These made up parts of: Thames Valley SHA, County Durham and Tees Valley SHA, North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA and Trent SHA.
Source:
Department of Health GP Recruitment, Retention and Vacancy surveys 2000–03.
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§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the general practitioner vacancy(a) rate and (b) number was in each English region in each year since 1997.[137366]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 10 November 2003]The Department's annual GP Recruitment and Retention Vacancy Survey started only from the year 2000.
The estimated three-month general practitioner (GP) vacancy rate for England in 2003 was 3.4 per cent. This is an increase from 2.7 per cent. in 2002. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates of the vacancy rate at strategic health authority (SHA) level. Estimated three-month vacancy rates are not available before 2002.
The number of GP vacancies for each SHA since 2000 is shown in the table. This represents a count of all GP vacancies that have occurred during each year. It will include turnover posts, and also posts created to boost expansion, even where they were filled very quickly. Thus, the increase in vacancies in part is a result of there being more posts overall, reflecting the Government's plan to increase the GP workforce.