Cambridgeshire’s new Lib Dem MPs write to Health Secretary urging fairer GP funding formula for Cambridge

Cambridgeshire’s new Lib Dem MPs write to Health Secretary calling on government to use pledged new investment in GPs to ‘deliver a fairer GP funding formula for Cambridge’

Pippa Heylings, Ian Sollom and Charlotte Cane, the trio of newly elected Lib Dem MPs in Cambridgeshire have written to the Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling on him to use the pledged new money for primary care to invest in the GPs of Cambridgeshire, after he announced the government would be redirecting billions to “fix the front door” of the NHS.

During the General Election campaign Charlotte, Pippa and Ian emphasised time and time again how Cambridgeshire desperately needs fairer funding for local doctors surgeries, with residents highlighting their struggles to see a GP.

Whilst the Health Secretary has promised to redirect billions into primary care to “fix the front door” of the NHS, Pippa, Ian and Charlotte have said that their constituents would not see the true benefits of this unless the Government fixes the funding formula which sees Cambridgeshire receive the lowest funding per person in the entire country.

The letter, addressed to the Health Secretary, on behalf of the residents of East, Mid and South Cambridgeshire requests a meeting with Mr Streeting to ask him “how your government intends to bolster the recruitment and retention of GPs and the steps necessary to deliver a fairer GP funding formula for Cambridgeshire, and how can we work together to achieve this.”

Alongside calling for much-needed investment in Cambridgeshire's health services, the new MPs have also led the calls for an Emergency Health and Care Budget in order to get urgent investment into the NHS which has been brought to its knees through years of the previous Conservative government’s neglect. The Lib Dem’s proposed Emergency Health and Care Budget includes measures such as free personal care for all those who need it, boosting GP numbers by 8,000 and a significant increase to the number of cancer nurses.

Pippa Heylings, MP for South Cambridgeshire said:

“Primary and community healthcare is a vital pillar of our NHS. Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who also works at the world-famous Addenbrooke’s hospital in South Cambridgeshire, emphasised this to us – highlighting how vital it is for reducing the pressure on our hospitals and A&Es and cutting waiting lists. 

This is a personal issue for me, as it is for so many others – it was a local GP who saved my husband's life, first spotting unusual blood results which led to the successful diagnosis and treatment of his leukaemia - and he is among many who have regular ongoing tests.

Sadly, I know from my recent Healthcare survey that 60% of South Cambridgeshire residents find it difficult to access a GP. We can’t carry on like this - the Government must take urgent action.”

Ian Sollom, MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire said:

“I spoke to thousands of people during this campaign, and time and time again the same story kept coming up. People are struggling to access the services that are so vital for their health.
In Cambridgeshire, funding for GP services has been frozen since 2017. That is why we have written to the Health Secretary to ask him for a fair funding deal for Cambridgeshire”

Charlotte Cane, MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire added:

“The Conservatives have brought the NHS to its knees, and it is the patients who have suffered. Here in East Cambridgeshire we are blessed to have some fantastic GPs, but they have not received anywhere close to the funding and support that they need. That is why we are calling upon the Secretary of State to deliver fairer funding for Cambridgeshire.”