- Over 1,000 GP surgeries across the country, including Bridge Street Surgery in Downham Market, Norfolk, are to share more than £100m in NHS funding
- The funding is designed to help unlock an extra 8 million new GP appointments across the UK by undertaking building improvements
- Currently GPs have capacity to support more patients but can’t because of outdated buildings limiting working spaces
Terry Jermy, Labour MP for South West Norfolk has today welcomed the government’s announcement that Bridge Street Surgery in the South West Norfolk constituency will benefit from a share of more than £100m in funding.
Backed by thee government’s major cash injection into the NHS, Bridge Street Surgery in Downham Market will join more than 1,000 GP surgeries across the UK and receive vital funding to create additional space to see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care, following years of neglect under the previous government.
Right now, many GP surgeries could be seeing more patients, but don’t have enough room or the right facilities to accommodate them. From creating new consultation and treatment rooms to making better use of existing space, these fixes will help patients across the country be seen faster.
This represents the biggest investment in GP facilities in five years and is only possible because of the choice made by the government in the Budget to invest £26 billion in the NHS. And it is another measure helping shift care out of hospital and into the community.
Terry Jermy, Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, said:
“I was pleased to visit Bridge Street Surgery recently and saw the space they’re hoping to get improved. Supporting GP services was one of my main campaign pledges, so I am delighted with this funding news. Constituents routinely tell me about their frustrations enduring the dreaded ‘8am scramble’ for an appointment and the difficulty they have getting a GP appointment. I promised Labour would help bring back the family doctor – with 1,500 new GPs recruited already, and I’m delighted that our Government is starting to deliver on that promise”.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:
“It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.
“These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.
“It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the Budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries, start tackling the 8am scramble and deliver better services for patients. The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will transform our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it.”
Projects will be delivered during the 2025-26 financial year, with the first upgrades expected to begin in summer 2025.
