Fareham Labour Party has condemned GP Funding Cuts. Spokesperson Richard Ryan said:
“Almost everyone with recent experience of GPs surgeries will recognise the truth of Dr Richard Roop’s comments (GPs Surgery’s Under Pressure Due to Funding Cuts – The News 25 April). In the last year it has become much harder to get an appointment with a GP and we have less choice, or frequently no choice, of which GP we want to see. The Royal College of GPs has stated that almost 11% of the NHS budget was spent on general practice in 2005, compared with 8.5% in 2011 – a cumulative loss of £9.1bn at the same time as 40 million additional appointments are being requested.
This is undoubtedly part of the reason for increased pressure in A & E departments across the country. Primary Care is a crucial, perhaps in many ways the most crucial, part of the NHS. It is our first point of call when we have a health problem, or at least it should be. The Labour Party recognised the importance of the NHS and primary care and invested in it.
The Conservatives just want it privatised. The idea of paying for GP appointments is already being floated by some Conservative commentators.”
Labour has been receiving support across the political spectrum which has included the former leader of the SDP Lord David Owen donating money to The Labour Party because he supports Labour’s proposal to reverse the 2012 legislation saying that “Unless there is a change of Government the NHS in England will be completely destroyed by 2020”.