I'm tackling the GP crisis in Portsmouth | MP Stephen Morgan

Born out of a decade of Tory and Lib Dem indifference to the Labour-created NHS, we are now in the midst of a GP crisis.

According to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), under the Conservatives we have seen a decrease of around 3,500 GP partnerships, 68 per cent of General Practices struggling to recruit new doctors, and 34 per cent of people forced to wait a week or more for a consultation.

Research into this emergency blighting our communities shows the unmanageable and overly demanding workload of GPs is to blame.

Government demands GPs see between 50 and 70 patients per day, five days per week which is not feasible according to the professors at University College London.

But what do all these numbers and statistics really mean for Portsmouth? More and more practices closing, often in areas where services are needed most.

The current challenges faced by Hanway Medical Centre embody the national GP emergency. The centre in Buckland is being forced to close and merge with a bigger group of practices. This runs the risk of 14,000 people feeling the effects of poor patient access to GP services.

Meeting with patients affected, raising the issue in parliament, calling out the Health Secretary and liaising with the Clinical Commissioning Group along with pharmacies in the vicinity, I have been doing everything in my power to help stop the closure and save the practice. But responsibility falls at the feet of government who are failing to tackle the growing number of GPs leaving the profession.

There is nothing more British than ensuring everyone has access to decent medical services. The government is currently falling far short of the mark.

According to experts at RCGP, Boris Johnson’s government need to rectify their inaction by educating and training around 5,000 new staff and making changes to the workload of over-burdened doctors.

It costs the UK taxpayer £500,000 to train a GP. And under current conditions, just one in 20 plan on working full time because of brutal working conditions.

Aside from the obvious financial burden, do we really want our doctors, who make daily life and death decisions, so overworked they are unable to operate effectively?

Having spoken to leaders in the field, it is imperative that by the end of 2020 the government puts forward plans to expand and improve GP services. We are yet to see decisive moves that demonstrate they will meet this target.

As Portsmouth South’s MP, I will continue to hold government to account over their lassez-faire attitude to our cherished NHS services. Portsmouth deserves better.