Lucy Frazer MP writes on GP services for the Ely Standard

Lucy Frazer is the MP for South East Cambridgeshire. (Image: Lucy Frazer)

For most of us, our primary care services are the front door to the NHS. Not only are they the first point of contact for patients, but they are often the means of continuing care.

While the pandemic saw a spike in the use of our primary care system, including for our all-important vaccinations, public use remains high.

In the first six months of 2022, more than half the UK population used GP services and GPs in England carry out more than one million appointments every single day. In fact, there are 10 per cent more people using a GP than in 2019.

This requires investment and staff to keep up, which is why the government launched the £1.2 billion ‘Primary Care Recovery Plan’ earlier this year.

Amongst many things, the plan gives surgeries across the country a digital revamp, helping GPs to book in and triage patients more easily and allowing patients to identify appropriate specialists within a practice.

It also invests in more doctors and nurses, adding to the 25,000 already recruited since 2019, which has allowed UK GPs to deliver two million more appointments per month.

Since becoming the local MP eight years ago, I have strongly campaigned for better healthcare in Ely in partnership with local health leaders and NHS trusts, and I am delighted that, as a result, government investment is increasingly reaching our area.

Last week, I visited St Mary’s Surgery in Ely, which fully reopened in July following a significant £4.1 million expansion. Construction was supported by £3 million of NHS funding and other investment by East Cambridgeshire District Council, and partners at the surgery.

The rebuild has been in the pipeline since December 2019 and began in December 2021, when all patients were temporarily relocated to the Princess of Wales Hospital site.

Now it’s complete, the building has 50 per cent higher capacity, including 26 high quality clinical rooms – permitting the surgery to have up to 24,000 patients on its books.

In a typical week, the surgery will conduct 1,320 GP consultations (a mix of face-to-face/phone/ online as per patient preference), hold 589 nurse appointments, and process almost 800 blood tests.

St Mary’s also has two exceptional features. Firstly it is active in training, supporting nurses to pass their non-medical prescribing courses, allowing them to support prescribing for patient’s needs.

It is also a certified training practice, training the next generation of GPs as well as hosting placements for Cambridge University medical students and Anglia Ruskin nursing students. This helps support the future of general practice moving forwards. 

The surgery is a real success story of the power of funding in general practice, and how working together, towards a common goal, can reap major benefits for both staff and the Ely community they serve.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Write and tell us what you think about GP services in the area. Are you struggling to get an appointment, or maybe your experience is a good one. Send an email to: debbie.davies@newsquest.co.uk.