No Doctors, No Development

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled a new plan to ensure all developments come with new or expanded GP surgeries in Salisbury and South Wiltshire.

The call comes as shocking analysis reveals that GP surgeries in Salisbury serve an extra 1340 homes each since 2015 - a 34.5% increase.

Liberal Democrats are launching a campaign to guarantee GP investment on new developments. It comes as Lib Dem analysis shows that an eyewatering 1300 surgeries have closed in a decade (between 2015 and 2025) across the country.

Salisbury has faced huge amounts of new development in the last decade with whole communities being added to the city and surroundings. Whilst GP services have tried to expand, these new communities have not seen any dedicated services being built where they live.

Victoria Charleston wants new or expanded GP surgeries to be up and running in areas of new development as soon as the first homes are sold. This is part of the proposed infrastructure first approach to development, and supports their campaign to rescue General Practice and ensure everyone can get an appointment within 7 days or 24 hours if urgent.

Developers in Salisbury would be required to not only fund new facilities but to guarantee the GP surgery contract (or the cost of salaried GPs) while new residents are still moving in. This would ensure new residents don’t have to turn to over-stretched existing GPs.

Delivery of health services has been found to be integral for public trust, with recent LSE research finding that where GP provision has declined and more surgeries have closed, support for the extreme right has risen.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Campaigner Ms Charleston said:

“There has never been a harder time to be a patient in Salisbury, with health services overstretched and NHS targets routinely missed. Our doctors and NHS teams work incredibly hard but our area badly needs investment into our local services, including GPs, to cut waiting times and get people the care they desperately need.

“In communities across the country such as Salisbury, when new housing is built, GPs are promised but not delivered - this must end. Councils and local communities should be given the powers to hold developers' feet to the fire and demand the local doctors surgeries we so badly need.

“That’s why I’m launching a campaign to get our local NHS back on track, by building and delivering the services our communities need and ensuring new homes always go hand in hand with more GPs.”