5 million people unable to get through to their doctor as Lib Dems warn GPs must be exempt from Budget tax hike

EMBARGO: 22:30 Sunday 3rd November

5 million people unable to get through to their doctor as Lib Dems warn GPs must be exempt from Budget tax hike

• One in four people who contacted their GP in the past month couldn't get through on the day they called
• Lib Dems warn that the government’s National Insurance hike is a “tax on community care” that will make crisis worse
• Party calls for GPs to be exempt from the tax hike alongside other health and care providers 

Over 5 million people tried to contact their GP in the past month but failed to get through on the day they called, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for GPs to be exempt from the employers National Insurance rise, as well as social care providers, warning that it is a “tax on community care.”

The Library’s research, based on an ONS survey published on the 10th October, showed that 22.4 million people tried to contact their GP in the previous 28 days. Of these, 5.2 million were unable to get through to their GP on the day that they called, meaning nearly one in four people who wanted to get through to their GP could not.

According to the Library’s research, a further 1.2 million people were unsuccessful in contacting their GP at all that month.

It comes amid warnings the hike to the employers’ National Insurance (NI) rate from 13.8% to 15% in the budget will push up GP surgery staff costs.

The government has not set money aside to compensate surgeries for this increase and GP surgeries are not eligible for Employment Allowance that shields the smallest employers from the rise in NI.

For example an employee earning £30,000 a year will cost the practice an additional £866 and the average GP surgery will see their annual costs increase significantly.

Fixing the GP crisis is crucial for saving the NHS and the Liberal Democrats are therefore calling on the government to protect GP practices by exempting them from the rise in NICs.

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said:

“Millions of people across the country are already struggling to get a doctor's appointment, now the government's tax hikes risk making the GP crisis even worse.

“This is a tax on community care that will hit GPs, dentists and care homes, making it even harder for them to employ enough staff and deliver the care that local people desperately need.

“Some risk even being forced to close altogether, leaving local patients to pay the price.

“If this new government is to avoid the disastrous mistakes the Conservatives made in office, they must exempt GPs and other health and care providers from this tax rise.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

GP costs increase due to NIC hike - Pulse

GPs not eligible for Employment Allowance - Here

House of Commons Library research

Applying ONS survey results to the ONS population estimate indicates that an estimated 22.4 million adults in England attempted to contact their GP in the last 28 days but only an estimated 17.2 million were able to make contact the day they called leaving 5.2 million unsuccessful (23%).

Applying ONS survey results to the ONS population estimate indicates that an estimated 22.4 million adults in England attempted to contact their GP in the last 28 days. Of these, an estimated 21.2 million were successful and 1.2 million were unsuccessful.