Politics

Tories to slash NHS waiting times with an extra 50 million GP appointments and 6,000 new doctors and nurses


THE Tories last night vowed to slash NHS waiting times by creating an extra 50 million appointments with GPs and hiring another 6,000 doctors.

Boris Johnson’s party also pledged the same number of nurses, physios and pharmacists over the next five years.

 Boris Johnson is targeting waiting NHS times with a pledge to deliver 50,000 GP appointments and 6,000 new doctors across the UK

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Boris Johnson is targeting waiting NHS times with a pledge to deliver 50,000 GP appointments and 6,000 new doctors across the UKCredit: AP:Associated Press

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the recruitment blitz — paid for by an extra £2.5billion — will ensure sick Brits no longer have to wait weeks for an appointment.

It comes after Boris Johnson lashed Jeremy Corbyn for peddling scare stories about the NHS in a desperate bid to snatch votes.

The PM branded Labour’s claims he is secretly plotting to sell off parts of the health service  “pure Loch Ness Monster, Bermuda Triangle stuff”.

Meanwhile Mr Hancock said: “I love our NHS and am incredibly proud of the world-class care it offers patients.

“We all know that prevention is better than cure, and our GPs are the best way of helping us all out of hospital.

“But I also know that it is too often difficult to book an appointment with a GP.

“We all know the feeling of ringing a GP surgery first thing in the morning, holding on to get an appointment.

“So we will put record funding in and help everyone get the care they need.

“We will create 50 million extra appointments in GP ­surgeries each year, with the sort of easy online booking that we expect in other areas of our lives.”

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The cash injection comes on top of Boris Johnson’s pledge to pump an extra £34billion into the health service.

A survey in September found the average wait for a GP appointment had risen above two weeks for the first time.

Some patients have to hang on for three or four weeks.

Under the scheme unveiled today, the Tories will train another 500 GPs every year, starting in 2021/22.

Another 3,000 doctors will have been snapped up by the NHS by 2024/25, they say. There are also plans to retain an extra 3,000 GPs — taking the total to 6,000 by the end of the next Parliament.

The health service is one of the key battlegrounds of the looming December 12 election. Mr Corbyn has furiously accused the Tories of secretly plotting to “sell out” the NHS in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

But Mr Johnson hit back at the claims while on a trip to Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield in the East Midlands.

He said: “We can do free-trade deals with countries around the world but under us the NHS is not for sale. It’s not going to be on any kind of international trade negotiation. This is pure Loch Ness Monster, Bermuda Triangle stuff.”

The PM, who also visited the George Spencer Academy in Nottingham, went on: “The NHS, free at the point of use, is a fantastic service.

“We not only believe in it but are investing more in it than at any time in recent memory and we’ll continue to do so.”

 The PM takes time out for a cup of tea during a hospital visit on Friday's campaign trail

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The PM takes time out for a cup of tea during a hospital visit on Friday’s campaign trailCredit: PA:Press Association
 Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the recruitment blitz — paid for by an extra £2.5billion — will ensure sick Brits no longer have to wait weeks for an appointment

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the recruitment blitz — paid for by an extra £2.5billion — will ensure sick Brits no longer have to wait weeks for an appointmentCredit: AFP or licensors
 Boris Johnson lashed out at Jeremy Corbyn for peddling scare stories about the NHS

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Boris Johnson lashed out at Jeremy Corbyn for peddling scare stories about the NHSCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Home Secretary Priti Patel launches new NHS Visa to ensure there is no shortage of medical professionals after Brexit







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