GPs and care providers in Tewkesbury could be “pushed past the brink” without an exemption from the Budget’s National Insurance tax hike, Lib Dem MP Cameron Thomas has said.
Gloucestershire GPs and care providers are already in crisis, but the tax hike will add to the pressure by forcing small care providers and GPs to pay more in National Insurance Contributions.
The government provided extra funding for the NHS and other public sector organisations to cover the cost of the tax rise. However, GPs and the vast majority of care providers are private and so won't benefit from this help.
Cameron Thomas has called today for crucial health and care services in Tewkesbury to be exempted from the NI hike - or risk them shutting up shop.
Liberal Democrat MP for Tewkesbury, Cameron Thomas said:
“GPs and care services across the constituency, from Winchcombe Medical Centre to Alpha Care Services in Bishops Cleeve are already under immense pressure following years of Conservative mismanagement.
“The decisions the Chancellor made in the Autumn Budget may now push those vital services past the brink. Closure of these practices would be awful for residents and only increase pressure on Gloucester Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals.
“People must be able to access decent health and care services. To deliver this, the government must change course and exempt GPs and care providers here in Tewkesbury from the tax hike.”
Bosses at Shire Hall have agreed to write to the Chief Executive of the NHS in Gloucestershire over cancer waiting times.
The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservatives for failing pharmacies as reports show hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cuts since 2015.
Funding for GP services in Gloucestershire has been slashed by £666,343 in real terms since 2019, research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.