Guildford Liberal Democrat Candidate Zöe Franklin reveals funding for local GP services cut by £9.2 million under Conservatives 

Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows real-term cuts of 8.3% to GP services funding in our area since 2019 

The Liberal Democrats commissioned analysis of House of Commons Library documents focusing on funding for General Practices over the last four years. 

The Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board (ICB), is the NHS body responsible for planning health services for its local population, which includes the Guildford constituency. 

Once inflation is taken into account, figures show since 2019: 

• £9.179 million cut from its funding  
• 8.3% cut to funding per-patient 

Nationally, the Conservatives have cut GP funding by 6.9% per patient. 

Zöe Franklin said: 

“We have all seen the consequences of years of chronic under-funding of the NHS by this Conservative Government. 

“Waiting days or weeks for an appointment with our GP doesn’t just leave patients waiting in pain and distress, it delays what can be a crucial referral onto the path for serious medical conditions like cancer to be investigated and treated. 

“Not only is primary care desperately underfunded, but the Conservatives have sat back and overseen record highs of patients on waiting lists for NHS hospital treatment. If the Conservatives really did care about us and the NHS, we wouldn’t be seeing this appalling neglect. 

The Liberal Democrats are committed to our GPs and primary care professionals being at the heart of our NHS. The party believes there should be a legal right to see a GP within seven days, or within 24 hours for patients in urgent need. 

Ms Franklin continued: 

“We are losing far too many trained doctors to work overseas or leave the profession altogether. But who can blame them? We must value the staff we have, and train and retain more medical professionals. 

“The longer this failing Conservative government limps on, the more patients will suffer the consequences of their neglect. 

“Rishi Sunak is completely out of touch. Conservative MPs are too busy fighting amongst themselves. The country is desperate for a General Election."  

ENDS 

Notes to Editors: 

Analysis by the House of Commons Library on GP funding per area can be found here. Figures are broken down by ICBs. 

House of Commons Library notes can be found here. 

The original source of the data is: NHS Payments to General Practice, England, 2022/23