ALL GP patients in England will be offered an appointment for non-urgent needs within two weeks under new plans to help improve access to care.

Under the proposals, patients will also be able to check how their nearby surgeries are performing compared to each other regarding patient access.

It comes as more GP assistants and advance nurse practitioners are to be employed to free up valuable GP time.

The plans have been met with mixed reaction from councillors across south Essex.

Southend councillor Dan Nelson said: “I think it is good news and I glad the Government has stepped up and increased the number of non-urgent doctor appointments. I am in this queue myself so know how frustrating it is.

“It can mean life is on hold for some people, so for the Government to step up to the plate and make more available is a good thing. I think it can be life-changing for some people.

“There is a big backlog due to the Covid pandemic so this will make a real different to people’s lives.”

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In her new Plan For Patients, Health and Social Care Secretary Therese Coffey - who is also Deputy Prime Minister - will try to help ease the 8am scramble for appointments as the NHS rolls out new telephone systems.

Patients will be told their place in the queue and maybe asked a few simple questions or offered information about practice opening times while waiting.

Meanwhile, she will outline plans to publish data so patients can assess how their GP practice is performing compared to other local surgeries with regards to the number of appointments delivered and how long people need to wait for care.

Kerry Smith, Basildon councillor for Nethermayne, said “I think the crux of the issue is the lack of doctors. If you do not have the doctors it doesn’t matter what people think of the service.

“There are too many doctor vacancies and I am concerned that there are not enough doctors to do all these additional appointments. I also want to know who decides what is urgent and what isn’t.

“Whatever Government package it offers the issue is the lack of doctors.”