STORY
In a speech delivered at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) annual conference in Newport, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock laid out a forceful agenda aimed at restoring general practice and tackling stark inequalities in health.
Kinnock described general practice as the “front door to the NHS,” noting how poor health in deprived communities manifests as missed school days, reduced work capacity, and entrenched generational disadvantage. He said closing the health gap, such as the ten-year life expectancy difference between children born in Blackpool and Hampshire, must become a national priority.
To address this, Kinnock announced a review of the Carr-Hill funding formula through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, designed to better direct resources toward overburdened practices, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to boosting general practice capacity, highlighting an additional £1.1 billion investment in primary care and above-inflation pay increases over the past year. There are now more than 50,000 GPs nationally, with nearly 40,000 fully qualified which he claimed was the highest on record.
Kinnock also pledged to reduce bureaucratic burdens and red tape, signalling forthcoming legislation that would enhance the professional status of GPs and place them on a more equal footing with other medical specialties.
“We will not accept a situation where GPs can’t get a job and patients can’t see a GP,” Kinnock told conference delegates, earning applause. He pointed to rising patient satisfaction, up from 61 % to 75 % in some areas, as evidence that reforms are beginning to have an impact.
Another central theme of his speech was the government’s vision for the new Neighbourhood Health Service. He stressed that GPs would remain at the heart of this model, with patients already benefiting from reforms that have diverted more than half a million referrals to community services such as physiotherapy and sexual health instead of hospital waiting lists. The minister acknowledged, however, that challenges remain. He praised GPs for their resilience and reaffirmed that their expertise and experience would not be taken for granted.