Extra article. w/c 13th July 2009. Stephen Ladyman MP

People who commute or who work long hours often have difficulty getting access to their doctor without taking time off work. I would have thought that all of us would welcome an innovative GP service in Thanet that is open long hours, but apparently not. The Conservatives think that only private patients should have access to doctors at times that suit the patient.

People from prosperous backgrounds live longer. People from poor households or who live in deprived areas live, on average, twelve years less than citizens who are better off. I would have thought that doing something about that would be supported by every one of us, especially since some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country are right here in Thanet, but it appears not. Local Conservatives don’t think that a new effort to reduce health inequalities in Thanet is worthwhile.

The Thanet Community Care Scheme is a newly announced £9m investment over five years that aims to provide a GP led service across Thanet. It will operate from central hubs in Ramsgate and Margate High Streets as well as from 11 ‘satellite’ locations around the Island. I’m delighted at the news, but it appears that local Conservatives are not. They got into a political rut attacking what they called ‘the Government’s Darzi clinics’ and they can’t get out of it without losing face and admitting they were wrong.

For those with more open minds, the facts are these. Patients will get access to the service from 8am to 8pm. You will be able to make an appointment or just walk in. No-one will have to use the service and everyone can see their own GP instead if that is what they prefer to do. It will not seek to take patients away from existing doctors’ practices and it has been designed so as not to undermine any of the existing practices.

This new service will be a convenience for many people and a threat to no-one. It will mean far fewer people turning up at Accident and Emergency when they have no need to do so and fewer people going without health advice because they cannot get to their doctors surgery when it is open.

It will also use outreach services through a mobile unit, local schools and local pharmacies to attack the deplorable difference between the health of people from poor backgrounds and those from more prosperous circumstances. They will use organisations like Porchlight and Scrine to reach rough sleepers and people in poor accommodation, they will try and get people with unhealthy lifestyles to change their behaviour and they will run substance abuse clinics for those who need them.

All of these things will be done without reducing in any way the level of investment made in our existing services. The service has been planned after consultation with local doctors and they are happy that any previous concerns they may have had have been taken on board. It appears that only the Conservatives are unhappy – the rest of us have something good to celebrate.