Local surgeries to receive funding for building improvement works

Its hoped the move will help improve the availability of appointments

Two GP practices in our area are amongst those which have been awarded government funding for improvements to their buildings.

Hightown Surgery and the Bloxham and Hook Norton practice have been selected to receive a share of £102million from the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund.

The government is providing the money to enable more appointments to take place. They hope that across the country over 8.3 million more opportunities to see a GP will be created through the bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise practices.

Banbury’s MP, Sean Woodcock, said: “Residents in Banbury tell me their frustration after enduring the dreaded ‘8am scramble’ and the difficulty that they have in getting a GP appointment. I promised Labour would help bring back the family doctor – with 1,500 new GPs recruited already, I’m delighted that our Labour Government is starting to deliver on that promise.

“But that was just the start. We said we would fix the front door of the NHS – today we’re fixing the front, the sides, the back and all the rooms in between with the biggest investment GP facilities have seen for years. I’m so proud that our Labour government is delivering on our promises for Banbury and investing in the modernisation of Bloxham and Hightown Surgeries.”

The improvement schemes at Hightown Surgery and the Bloxham and Hook Norton practice had been prioritised for inclusion in the government’s scheme by the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board.