Patients will benefit from over 8.3 million more appointments each year as over 1,000 doctors surgeries receive a bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise practices.

Backed by the government’s major cash injection of over £102 million, over 1,000 GP surgeries will receive vital funding to create additional space to see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care, following years of neglect.

Right now, many GP surgeries could be seeing more patients, but do not have enough room or the right facilities to accommodate them. From creating new consultation and treatment rooms to making better use of existing space, these quick fixes will help patients across the country be seen faster.

This represents the biggest investment in GP facilities in 5 years and is only possible because of the difficult choices made by the government to invest £26 billion into the NHS. It is another measure helping the government shift care out of hospital and into the community, as part of its Plan for Change.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

“It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.

These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.

It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the Budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries, start tackling the 8am scramble and deliver better services for patients. The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will transform our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it”.

In Norwich, Prospect Medical Practice – serving nearly 7,000 patients in some of the city’s most deprived areas – will create new clinical rooms to deliver more patient consultations.

In the Black Country, vacant office spaces in Harden Health Centre will be converted into clinical consulting rooms, allowing more patient access to primary care.

Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, said:

“We know more needs to be done to improve patient access to general practice and this investment in over 1,000 primary care premises will help do this.

Bringing GP premises up to a similar condition across England is important to improve patient experience of NHS services, while making primary care a better working environment as we seek to retain and recruit more staff”.

It will also help to create additional space and extend the capacity of current premises as we improve access further and bring care closer to the communities where people live as part of the 10 Year Health Plan.