The Government has announced new investment aimed at improving the efficiency of NHS GPs in order to improve care and shorten waiting lists.
The Primary Care Utilisation & Modernisation Fund is a £102 million project aiming to enhance the use of existing NHS GP surgeries that will see patients benefit from over 8.3 million more appointments each year.
Rather than financing the construction of new surgeries, the fund will focus on refurbishing or reconfiguring existing spaces in over 1,000 NHS GP surgeries.
The government claims that existing NHS GPs “have capacity to take on more patients”, but the outdated buildings and working spaces means that they are restricted.
By improving underused spaces, the government hopes to increase capacity, promote productivity and increase the number of patient appointments available at NHS GPs.
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, 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.”
The government also announced various details about the plans and how they may be implemented at various NHS GP surgeries, saying: “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.”
Additionally: “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.”
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the announcement was an “encouraging interim measure” but that it needs to be “followed up by further long-term investment”.
Over the last decade, the number of qualified full time equivalent (FTE) NHS GPs per 1000 patients has fallen by 15 per cent.
The NHS estimates the maintenance backlog – a measure of how much investment is needed to restore buildings – would cost £13.8 billion to complete all necessary works. This represents a near threefold increase over the last decade with the 2014/15 maintenance backlog totalling £5 billion.
In further efforts to improve services, the Government is changing the way the NHS works by expanding the NHS app and abolitioning the quango NHS England in order to “cut red tape” and decrease delays and costs associate with a perceived excess of bureaucratic processes.
NHS England – the UK’s largest Quasi-Autonomous Non-Departmental Government Body (quango)- currently employs 13,500 administrators and is responsible for managing the provision of health services across the nation.
The Government says that the overhaul will free up £500 million for front line spending and put the NHS back under democratic control.
In March 2025, the “New Deal for GPs” was also launched. The changes, starting in October, will make online booking service mandatory, and reduce the number of progress trackers NHS GPs will need to report on.
Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association said: “Today’s investment in improving GP surgeries is a much-needed step towards better access to care closer to home.
“Our reporting shows nearly one-third of patients struggle to book GP appointments, and we have long highlighted what matters in healthcare facilities: truly accessible spaces where everyone receives care with dignity. The potential for 8.3 million additional appointments from these refurbishments will make a real difference to communities waiting for care.
“Crucially, it delivers on what patients themselves have called for: modern, accessible spaces that support high-quality care. We look forward to seeing these upgrades rolled out, with a continued focus on ensuring patients everywhere get timely support in settings that support their dignity. This investment represents a meaningful step toward realising what patients have long been asking for. “
As of February 2025, the NHS waiting list stood at 7.4 million cases, with an average wait time of over 14 weeks. The waiting list has been coming down – sitting below its 2023 peak of 7.77 million – but remains nearly 70 per cent higher than pre-covid levels.
Featured image via Fred Duval/Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock.
