Minister vows to tackle health gap
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock used his speech to the Royal College of General Practitioners Annual Conference in Newport to pledge a “new era” for general practice, promising to tackle deep-rooted health inequalities and modernise the NHS.
Speaking to hundreds of GPs, Kinnock said closing the gap between rich and poor was a “top priority” for government, describing it as “utterly shameful” that a child born in Blackpool could expect to live ten years fewer than one in Hampshire.
He confirmed that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has been commissioned to review the Carr Hill funding formula – a move designed to ensure GP resources are “targeted where they are most needed”.
Record funding and recruitment drive
Kinnock pointed to what he called the “biggest investment in general practice in over a decade” – £1.1 billion – alongside two above-inflation pay rises and reforms to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.
The minister said the changes would help hire an extra 2,000 GPs, adding that the total number of doctors in general practice was now at a record high of 50,000, nearly 40,000 of whom are fully qualified.
He said patient satisfaction had risen from 61% last year to 75%, crediting frontline staff for “putting general practice back on the road to recovery”.
New ‘Neighbourhood Health Service’ plan
Kinnock outlined plans for a ten-year “Neighbourhood Health Service” model designed to shift care from hospitals to communities, giving GPs “the tools, equipment and autonomy to provide world-class care”.
He said new neighbourhood contracts would be introduced next year, allowing practices to collaborate across wider areas and employ multidisciplinary teams.
Online access row
On digital access, Kinnock defended mandatory online consultations, accusing a “rump of refuseniks” and the British Medical Association of resisting modernisation.
He cited NHS data showing 85% of primary care networks now offer online booking, praising surgeries that had cut waiting times from two weeks to three days.
Rejecting claims that new systems would overwhelm GPs, he said research showed “no evidence of supply-induced demand” and insisted that modernisation was vital to prevent “two-tier healthcare” as more young people turn to private care.
‘A government on your side’
Kinnock closed by telling GPs: “For the first time in a very long time, you have a government that is on your side.”
He urged collaboration to “rescue the NHS from the biggest crisis in its history” and restore its founding promise of universal, high-quality care.
