Bradford Council leader voices concerns over local GP access

A Council chief has spoken out over the relationship between patients and GPs, saying that it is becoming fractured due to frustrations over access to appointments.

 

Susan Hinchcliffe told a meeting of the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Board that people are “very concerned” about the issue.

 

Members of the group were discussing a Healthwatch report, which highlighted people’s experiences of accessing GP appointments, mental health support, NHS dentistry and more.

 

Cllr Hinchcliffe said “From what I hear on the doorstep, people are very concerned about it.  It is also starting to fracture the relationship between people and their GPs, I would suggest.

 

“GPs have always been very trusted, well-liked members of the community and this is not positive really for that relationship going forward and that’s a very important relationship people have when they need to listen to that trusted advice from GPs.”

 

She then went on to say that health inequalities could become further entrenched and added “My plea would be to check that the online support people are being given is appropriate”.

 

She called for national lobbying on GP practices and said “This isn’t going to get any better unless we solve that problem nationally, so there’s something about articulating about how many more medical students we need in the region to provide sufficient supply for the future.”

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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