Shouldn’t the NHS be a statutory consultee on all new housing developments?
As I work with GPs across Mid Norfolk to highlight the need for the greater integration of health and social care infrastructure and provision with planning (as is the case for education and planning), I met with the Practice Leadership at Mattishall Surgery and Pharmacy again on Friday – as part of my ongoing work with them to try and help fast track plans for an expansion that would reflect the scale of new housing in our area and enable staff to deliver more top level services, more efficiently.
While I have recently written to ministers and officials in Westminster to pose that key question, I will continue to speak up on behalf of our local GPs – and am committed to supporting Mattishall on this key local project. I am working closely with the Surgeries on a series of follow up actions.
To learn more, please see the webstory on my recent visit to Mattishall Surgery and Pharmacy here.
To find out more about my regular conversations with my Mid Norfolk GP Practice Leaders, please click here
To learn more about similar work I am doing over in Attleborough with the Surgeries and local ATTCARE team, please click here
UPDATE - 6 November 2023
Mattishall Surgery and Pharmacy Visit
GP Surgeries and Pharmacies are under immense pressure – especially those in rural areas such as Mid Norfolk.
Staff at these vital local facilities work incredibly hard, as I saw on Friday when I visited Mattishall Surgery and Pharmacy. They are currently dealing with the knock-on effects of the pandemic backlog, meaning that people require GP care for longer whilst they wait for surgery, as well as national trends such as a growing and ageing population.
We must ensure that these dedicated staff, who work incredibly hard to ensure that we are all safe and well, receive the support they need – including ensuring that surgeries are properly compensated for the costs that come with serving a rural area, making sure that they are able to recruit staff (which is why I am pleased that the Government continues to offer bonuses of £20,000 to trainee GP’s who choose practices in areas struggling with recruitment), and seeing that they have proper facilities which enable them to care for their patients.
That is why, in conjunction with the practice leadership at Mattishall, I am exploring what action can be taken to try and bring about progress towards a new premises for the surgery and pharmacy – one that would better enable staff to provide the first-class services that patients need and deserve.
The team at the surgery continue to offer innovative solutions – whether that be a dispensing robot, or a 24 hour self-serve prescription collection point. That being said, it is clear from my visit that their building has reached the end of its useful life. A new, larger building would enable the practice to make sure that the team can get ahead of the curve on the health needs and population growth of the area for years to come – rather than trying to play catch-up as they have too often been made to do.
You can see more on my visit in the video below.