Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley seeks views on GP services in Teignbridge

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley visited Dawlish and Starcross to talk to health professionals and patients about the health care provision they would like to see.

He was joined by Prospective Conservative MP and long-standing health campaigner Anne Marie Morris as he met with GPs and the practice manager Janine Payne at the Barton Surgery in Dawlish.

A lively debate on the future structure of health care provision and the likely changes to the GP contract for services took place. The Conservative proposals to localise the decisions about heath care provision was very much welcomed.

The hot topic of out of hours provision was discussed and the consensus was the Devon Doctors model worked well and much better than the out of hours provision in many other parts of the country. The Barton Practice had endeavoured to meet the needs of the local community by opening extended hours starting at 7am in the morning.

Andrew and Anne Marie then met Westbank Practice Patient Participation Group in Starcross to hear their views. The Starcross based group has continued to speak for local patients, despite the government’s attempts to disband them.

Andrew Lansley said:
“It is very important to me that I hear from the grass roots exactly what concerns patients and doctors in general practice have. This is the entry point into the NHS‘s services and it is vital it works well. The current system does not enable GPs the flexibility to deliver what patients need quickly and efficiently. They are tied up in red tape and bureaucracy. GPs need the freedom to determine locally what patients need – and then provide it. Centralised decision making simply doesn’t work.”

Anne Marie Morris said:
“Many NHS staff realise that we need togive more power to the NHS locally. The Conservative plans for the NHS are bold, as they cannot afford to be anything else. Since being selected over three years ago, I have made the NHS my number one priority. It was important to have Andrew here, listening to the concerns of doctors and patients, and discussing with them what a Conservative government would like to do to create a more local, accountable and transparent NHS.”

Chairman of the Westbank Practice Patient Participation Group, John Manley-Tucker, said:
“It was great to have Andrew come and listen to our concerns. As an active patient support group we were very pleased with the meeting and it enabled us to keep our concerns about the NHS at the forefront of the Shadow Minister’s mind.”

Doctor John Whitehead the chairman of the Barton Surgery practice in Dawlish said:

“We were delighted to welcome Andrew Lansley back to Dawlish. We believe we have an unusual model of healthcare practice, partly because of our proximity to our community hospital. This integrated model of care is one which has potential to be developed further and would suit a number of similar communities across the country. I am pleased this flexible approach is one which a future Conservative Government would support.”

Photos: Andrew Lansley and Anne Marie Morris visit Barton Surgery (top) and Andrew, Anne Marie and Dr John Whitehead (bottom)