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Wes Streeting unable to say when '8am scramble' for GP appointments will end despite earlier promises
8 April 2025, 10:03
Wes Streeting has been unable to say when the "8am scramble" for a same-day GP appointment will end.
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The Health Secretary said he hopes the experience of the “8am scramble” of trying to get a GP appointment will be “wildly different” before the next general election.
Asked when the 8am scramble will end, Mr Streeting told LBC's Nick Ferrari: “It is going to take time."
Many GP surgeries open their phone lines at 8am, meaning those in need of a same day appointment have to call on the dot at 8am and often wait in a long phone queue to get through to a receptionist.
Mr Streeting revealed they have recently done a deal with GPs to ensure everyone in every part of the country can access booking services online. He said: "Ultimately, this is going to be a case of step by step, year on year, seeing an improvement.”
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When Mr Ferrari pushed for a timeline and asked whether the issue will be resolved by this time next year, Mr Streeting said: “I can’t guarantee that… obviously we’ll go as fast as we can.
“But, as you know, I don’t make promises unless I’m 100% sure I can keep them, so I wouldn’t want to over-promise today and then under-deliver. I’d rather go the other way around.”
He instead said he hopes by the next general election people feel their experience of accessing GP services has improved from when Labour first came into power last year.
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Mr Streeting added: “I wouldn’t like to give you a deadline today and then fall short. So, as I say, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating and whether people feel that their experience is better by the next general election."
Staff and patients have been consulted as the government is drawing up a 10-year-plan for the NHS, expected to be published in the coming months.
Technology is likely to feature in the proposals and in October ministers announced plans for a “single patient record” of health information, test results and letters in one place through the NHS app.
