A Liberal Vision for Primary Healthcare

Primary care is the front door to the NHS, delivering 90% of all public interactions with our health service. Yet, after a decade of Conservative underfunding, the Labour Government is continuing to treat primary care as an afterthought. 

With satisfaction in the NHS falling to just 26%, GP surgeries, community pharmacies, and dental clinics are being stretched to breaking point. Under Labour, nearly half of the public are avoiding contacting their GPs and millions of those who do are waiting over 28 days for an appointment.

Liberal Democrats believe in a patient-centred, preventive primary care system that sits at the heart of a transformed NHS. Today, Liberal Democrat members renewed our commitment to fix the front door of the NHS, restore patient choice, end dental deserts, and ensure preventative care is accessible before health problems turn into emergencies.

Our new policy calls on the Government to:

• Guarantee GP Access and Choice: Give patients a clear choice when booking - either an appointment within a week at a convenient time (or 24 hours if urgent), or a longer appointment with a trusted, familiar doctor.
   
• End Dental Deserts: Replace the broken dental system with a prevention-focused model, protect check-ups for children, and remove administrative hurdles so qualified overseas dentists already living in England can fill 2,500 vacant posts.
   
• Supercharge Pharmacy First: Expand community pharmacy services, integrate them fully into the NHS App for 24/7 booking, and put local pharmacies on a sustainable financial footing.
   
• Deliver Eye and Ear Care on the High Street: Expand community optometry and ensure high street providers cover glaucoma monitoring, cataract pathways, urgent minor eye care, and hearing aid fittings, keeping care close to home.
   
• Guarantee doctors wherever they are needed: Reform the outdated Carr-Hill formula so general practice funding fairly reflects local need, and require developers to ensure new housing comes with proper primary care staffing.
   
• Support GP Teams: Ease pressure on surgeries by using spare NHS 111 capacity to support receptionists during peak morning hours and creating clear pathways for senior paramedics and clinical pharmacists to join practice teams.

When primary care fails, the whole health service collapses under acute pressure. Treating people as numbers in a backlog rather than individuals with distinct needs is a failing strategy.

The Liberal Democrats are ready to rebuild primary care from the ground up - putting patients in control, supporting healthcare professionals, and delivering the swift, local care every community deserves.