Ruth Cadbury – 2022 Parliamentary Question on GP Recruitment

The parliamentary question asked by Ruth Cadbury, the Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, in the House of Commons on 6 December 2022.

Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)

What progress his Department has made on its commitment to recruit 6,000 additional GPs by 2024.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)

In September 2022 there were nearly 2,300 more full-time equivalent doctors in general practice than there were at the same time in 2019, and more than 9,000 GP trainees.

Ruth Cadbury

A constituent of mine, a full-time GP in her 50s, told me that the pension rules mean she has to retire, work part-time or emigrate, which is hardly likely to help her patients to obtain appointments with her. Having hinted at a change in doctors’ pension rules last summer, the Government are only now announcing a consultation that will last until next spring, so there will be no change in these crazy rules until next summer at the earliest. Is this not too little, too late?

Steve Barclay

It is worth reminding the House that there are 3% more doctors this year than last year. As I have said, we have 2,300 more full-time GPs, and we are recruiting more. However, the hon. Lady is absolutely right about doctors’ pensions; that is a material issue, which is why we launched the consultation, and we are working with Treasury colleagues to address these concerns as quickly as possible.