A SENIOR doctor whose team was praised by Rishi Sunak in a visit to Southampton has said the Prime Minister must now prioritise GP surgeries.
Dr Preshan Jeevaratnam, a GP partner, welcomed Mr Sunak to Weston Lane Surgery on Tuesday.
The PM - who had his blood pressure taken by Tory councillor and pharmacist Peter Baillie during the visit - was in the city as part of an announcement by Government outlining how pharmacies will help ease the burden on GP practices.
But Dr Jeevaratnam - who works at Living Well Partnership, a merger of several practices in the city - said more needs to be done for recruitment and retention of GPs.
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He said: “I hope some of what has been announced will help ease the pressure on general practice, to enable it to deliver what only general practices can deliver.
“The reality is that we’re already delivering on things that have been announced, so across the board they are good things.”
He added: “I really would like to see the government prioritise general practice, working with us in terms of recruitment and retention and investment in our IT infrastructure which is something that really holds us back.”
While at the practice Mr Sunak praised staff. He said patients at Weston Lane Surgery get "fantastic" care.
He said: “If you talk to patients in this practice that we’re at, they get fantastic care from their nurse to treat them for asthma, another nurse for diabetes or a physiotherapist, all different roles that we’re investing more in so that people can get the care they need and allows GPs to focus on what only they can do."
Mr Sunak's plans will see patients able to obtain prescription medicines and oral contraception directly from pharmacies without seeing a doctor.
This includes treatments for seven common conditions include including earache, sore throat and urinary tract infections.
The measures were announced by Mr Sunak as he visited Weston Lane Surgery in a media call that saw the Echo barred from interviewing the Prime Minister.
Other outlets, including a local BBC journalist, were prevented from speaking with Mr Sunak.
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Speaking to national journalists, the Prime Minister said: “We are investing more in (pharmacies).
"Eighty per cent of the country lives about 20 minutes walk from a pharmacy, and for many people they are an easier place to access than their surgery.
“That’s why we’re investing more in them and allowing them to do more, and it’s not just more medicines that people will be able to get there.
“They’re going to get more blood pressure checks or, indeed, contraception as well. “So, we’re expanding the range of services that people can get from their pharmacies. That’s good, it will ease pressure on the system, mean that people can get access to the health care they need quicker.”
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The Prime Minister was pressured about the Conservative manifesto target of 6,000 more GPs by 2024, but Mr Sunak declined to repeat that pledge.
Mr Sunak also visited Basset Pharmacy on Hill Lane, previously called Sunak Pharmacy, where previously his father was a GP.
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