Conservatives pledge £1bn to increase number of GP appointments – but will cut NHS management
The Conservative government has pledged £1bn a year in a bid to increase the number of GP appointments in the UK.
The Tories say they would build both GP surgeries and community diagnostic centres if they were re-elected to government.
The party wants to build 100 new GP surgeries and modernise another 150.
General election latest: Labour lead grows to high not seen since Truss
However, this bears echoes of the 2019 promise to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 – something the government will not be able to do, according to the National Audit Office.
The report released last year found only 32 of the 40 new hospitals promised by Boris Johnson would be built by the end of the decade – and some may be too small.
The Conservatives also want to increase the range of treatments available for people at pharmacies, after previously introducing the scheme.
They claim treating conditions such as acne and chest infections would free up 20 million GP appointments once fully fired up.
Rishi Sunak said: “The NHS is one of our most important national assets and the Conservatives are taking the long-term decisions to secure its future.
“As part of our clear plan we are investing in community services making it quicker, easier and more convenient for patients to receive the care they need and help to relieve pressure on hospital services.
“Only the Conservatives will take the bold action needed to secure the NHS’s future so that you can be safe in the knowledge that the NHS will be there for you and your family whenever you need it.”
It comes as the Tories continue to languish in the polls behind Labour.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Mail on Sunday that his party’s tax cuts failed to draw in voters – and also said another cut would not have changed opinions.
He said: “The fact that we’ve had two significant tax cuts that haven’t really changed the polls demonstrates to me that having a third one with the same again is unlikely to change the calculus.”
He added: “The Bank of England’s view is that there’s an 18-month delay between changing interest rates and it impacting on people’s finances… so the idea that you have a drop in interest rates and suddenly everyone feels good… is to underestimate how people are making this decision.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
? Tap here to follow Politics at Jack at Sam’s wherever you get your podcasts ?
The government’s healthcare pledge will require an extra £1bn by the end of the decade, and will be funded by cutting NHS managers to pre-COVID levels and reducing the use of management consultants, they said.
The announcement comes as Labour announced its plans for cutting legal migration.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The Conservatives have broken their manifesto promise to recruit more GPs, instead cutting 1,700 since 2016 and closing down more than 450 GP practices.
“Patients are finding it harder than ever before to see a GP, so why would they trust this latest empty promise?
“The doctor can’t see you now, and it will only get worse if the Tories are given another five years.
“Labour will train thousands more GPs and cut the red tape that ties up GPs’ time, so we can bring back the family doctor.”
UK health experts and officials have pushed back on Donald Trump’s claim that paracetamol is linked to autism, saying there is “no evidence” for it.
The US president said on Monday that there had been a “meteoric rise” in cases of autism and suggested that the use of Tylenol – an American-branded version of paracetamol – during pregnancy is a potential cause.
His claims have been widely corrected by officials, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who said that “I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this”.
Read more: What is autism?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump links autism with paracetamol
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Mr Streeting said: “I’ve just got to be really clear about this: there is no evidence to link the use of paracetamol by pregnant women to autism in their children. None.”
The health secretary then referenced a major study in Sweden last year that involved 2.4 million children, adding it “did not uphold those claims”.
He added: “I would just say to people watching, don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine.
“In fact, don’t take even take my word for it, as a politician – listen to British doctors, British scientists, the NHS.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump’s ‘not so careful’ autism claims
WHO says links ‘inconsistent’
Patient safety minister Dr Zubir Ahmed MP echoed this on social media, saying: “For the avoidance of any doubt, Paracetamol remains the safest painkiller to take during pregnancy.”
Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, also said that “there is no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children”.
She added that paracetamol “remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed,” and that the MHRA’s advice “is based on rigorous assessment of the best available scientific evidence”.
The British officials were supported by the European Medicines Agency, which said there was no new evidence that would mean its recommendations for the use of paracetamol during pregnancy would change.
Tarik Jasarevic, a World Health Organisation spokesperson, added at a press briefing that the links between the use of the drug and autism “remains inconsistent”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Paracetamol & autism: Evidence examined
Trump: Tylenol ‘not good’ for pregnant women
During a press conference with US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Mr Trump urged pregnant women to stop taking Tylenol.
After saying that Mr Kennedy Jr “wants to be very careful with what he says,” the US president added: “Taking Tylenol is not good. All right. I’ll say it. It’s not good.
“For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That’s, for instance, in cases of extremely high fever, that you feel you can’t tough it out. You can’t do it. I guess there’s that.”
Read more from Sky News:
Jimmy Kimmel Live to return
UK faces ‘crisis’ of child-on-child sex abuse
Reeves urged to raise major tax
Mr Trump then said key vaccinations for newborn babies should be delayed, that combined measles, mumps and rubella jabs should be given separately, and suggested that they are linked to autism.
“They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies, it’s a disgrace,” he added. “I don’t see it. I think it’s very bad.”
Mr Jasarevic pushed strongly back on that claim, saying: “We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I
said, save countless lives.
“So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned.”
The new Solana-based Evo stablecoin pegged to Kazakhstan’s national currency, the tenge, aims to bridge the crypto market with traditional finance.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates until inflation cools, and adds he is “not particularly worried” about stablecoins.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment12 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024