Mary Creagh MP // Tel: 01924 386124 // Email: mary@marycreagh.co.uk // 20-22 Cheapside, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2TF

Conservative NHS plans could see more than 466,500 evening and weekend GP appointments lost in Yorkshire and the Humber

Labour has set out plans to improve GP access by abolishing GP practice boundaries. But Conservative plans to let GPs cut their opening hours could see more than 466,500 GP appointments lost every year in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Health Secretary said: "People should take a long hard look at what the Tories say their plans are for the NHS. Evening and weekend opening hours are a keenly felt benefit for the millions of patients who need to be able to see a GP at a time that's convenient to them.

“Hard pressed families will be shocked to discover that for all his talk about understanding the concerns of real people, David Cameron is actually prepared to see the loss of more than 466,500 GP appointments at the evenings and weekends in Yorkshire and the Humber and more than 4 million appointments across the country."

Mary Creagh said: “Thanks to Labour’s reforms, families in Yorkshire and the Humber are now able to book GP appointments outside working hours in the evenings and at weekends. But people need to take a long hard look at the Tories policies on health, they would let GPs cut their hours, making it more difficult for you to see your doctor when you need to. People in Yorkshire and the Humber will be asking if David Cameron’s Conservatives are really in touch with the needs of working families.”