Alex Easton

Alex Easton

Independent — North Down

Speaking in the House of Commons on 23 June 2025

Debate

Access to GPs

Contribution

I totally agree. There is no point in building new houses if we are not going to put in the infrastructure, including health infrastructure and GPs. While I welcome initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining GPs, it is concerning that in Northern Ireland we have recruited only 121 GPs when we need 161 merely to restore the levels we had in 2014. The growing UK population, coupled with increasingly complex health needs, is exerting significant pressure on existing resources. In Northern Ireland alone, the population has risen by 70,000 over a decade, while 38 GP practices have closed—a reduction of 11%. It seems clear that as the population grows, funding should increase. We must also recognise that since April 2023, there have been 17 GP contract hand-backs, resulting in a decrease of 12 GP practices, leaving us with a total of 305.

More from Alex Easton

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

For Alex Easton's full parliamentary record including voting history, expenses and all other contributions, see the Alex Easton report card.