division_name: Access to Primary Healthcare
motion: <p class="indent" pid="e889.2/2" pwmotiontext="yes">That this House regrets that the NHS has been plunged into crisis by years of neglect by the previous Government, leaving far too many people waiting weeks to see a GP or unable to find an NHS dentist, and children and adults waiting months or even years to receive the mental health care they need; believes that everyone should be able to access high-quality primary care services when they need them and where they need them; condemns the previous Government for presiding over a fall in the number of full-time equivalent fully qualified GPs and NHS dentists in the last Parliament; further regrets that the Government has not yet set out a plan to invest in primary care at the level needed to meet demand; calls on the Government to boost access to GPs, NHS dentists and community pharmacists; and further calls on the Government to give everyone the right to see a GP within seven days or within 24 hours if they urgently need to and to guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e890.5/6" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;As an independent pharmacy, we&#8217;re unable to keep on absorbing costs with losses on dispensing.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e890.5/9" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;systemic pharmacy funding cuts of at least 25% in real terms since 2015.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e894.4/2" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;; welcomes the urgency with which the new Government commissioned Lord Darzi to conduct an independent investigation of the NHS in England; recognises that within weeks of taking office the Government invested &#163;82 million to recruit 1,000 newly qualified GPs; notes the Government commitment to tackle the dental crisis by providing 700,000 urgent dental appointments and recruiting new dentists to the areas that need them; approves the Government&#8217;s commitment to expand the role of pharmacies and better utilise the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians; and welcomes the Government&#8217;s commitment to further reduce unnecessary bureaucracy as care shifts from hospital to community.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e902.0/8" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;There is too much prescribing, too much emphasis on being ill, and not enough emphasis on being and staying well.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e917.0/5" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;the Sahara of dental deserts&#8221;.&#8212;[Official Report, <phrase class="date" code="">23 July 2024</phrase>; Vol. 752, c. 506.]</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e933.0/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;My daughter is 18, a student at college, and I am on ESA. We lost our NHS dentist 2 years ago in Totnes. We took the decision to go on a basic payment plan that gives us one check-up and hygienist visit as I have gum disease. We can&#8217;t really afford it. On a visit to the dentist today we were hit with a &#163;160 bill for a small filling that my daughter will need. I had to pay &#163;80 upfront. This is our food money for the next 2 weeks gone, and will be the same again when she returns for her appointment in October. We will have to use the food banks to eat this month.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="e934.0/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;it not only affects our oral health, but contributes to broader health issues that can arise from neglecting dental care&#8221;,</p>