Southport Residents to Benefit from Lib Dem's GP Appointment Pledge

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has announced that the party has a five year plan to ensure that patients have a right to see a GP within 7 days or within 24 hours if urgent. It will form a key part of their election pledges.

They would recruit 8,000 more doctors which will deliver an extra 65 million appointments each year.  

Southport Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate Erin Harvey has welcomed the plan. Figures from the end of last year highlighted that Southport residents wait longer for GP appointments than the national average with 15% waiting more than 2 weeks for an appointment.

Part of the reason for this is increased demand with Southport residents asking for 11% more appointments than a year ago. The local figure compiled from NHS data by Liberal Democrats points to a potential even bigger future crisis.

Figures also show a big disparity in people’s experience of GP access across the town when it comes to accessing surgeries and getting appointments.  Erin has been working alongside local Lib Dem Councillors to draw attention to the long waits in surgeries across Southport.

Erin commented, “Under the Tories health wait lists have spiralled out of control and getting a GP appointment can be a real struggle across our town. The Labour party have no tangible plan to sort this out if they get into power.

“Giving patients the right for an appointment within 7 days will help ensure that resources are directed to the right place. It will make a real difference to helping get the NHS back on its feet.”