I want to reset relationship between NHS GPs and their Government

Health Secretary wants to cut through the red tape and hire an extra 1,000 local doctors

On my first day as Health Secretary, I said the NHS is broken and I am determined to fix it. That must start with fixing the front door to the NHS in general practice.
In June, 1.4 million patients waited more than a month to see their GP. Telegraph readers will know the frustration of being forced to hang on the phone at 8am to book an appointment, too often ending up unsuccessful.
After 14 years of Conservative rule, we are a far cry from where the last Labour government left things. In an episode of BBC Question Time during the 2005 general election campaign, Tony Blair was confronted by an audience member who was furious that GP appointments were guaranteed within 48 hours – he wanted to book further in advance. Be careful what you wish for.
Despite Conservative promises to recruit an extra 6,000 GPs, they left office with fewer fully-qualified GPs than eight years ago. Doctors remaining in general practice are overstretched, overburdened with unnecessary bureaucracy, and unable to deliver the service patients deserve.
The Conservatives also introduced burdensome red tape that’s preventing practices from hiring the GPs they need. Officials advised me in my first weeks as Health Secretary that, if we didn’t act, this will leave more than 1,000 GPs unable to find jobs in the NHS this summer. Rishi Sunak was heckled by a GP during the election campaign about this very issue, but chose to laugh it off rather than act.
He left us in the absurd situation where patients can’t get a GP appointment, at the same time as GPs can’t get a job.
We weren’t prepared to see that continue. In my first week, I asked my department to work with the NHS on a solution. Today, this Government is taking immediate action to remove this perverse set of handcuffs. We will cut through the red tape and recruit an extra 1,000 GPs for the remainder of the year, starting in October.
As the Chancellor spelled out earlier this week, we have inherited public finances in just as bad a state as our public services. So the additional £82m required to hire these GPs will be paid for with redistributed funds from my department’s existing budget. This means difficult decisions on top of the pressures we already face, but getting patients seen on time has to be the priority.
This is just a first step in the Government’s mission to build a Neighbourhood Health Service and fix the front door of the NHS. That will include cutting through the box-ticking that ties up GPs time, so they can spend more of it with their patients. We will strip out some of the almost 50 targets GPs are measured on, and instead reward the family doctor relationship, so patients can see the same doctor each appointment. 
And we will work with GPs and patients to shape our ten-year plan for the NHS, which will deliver the decade of reform needed to make the health service fit for the future.
I’ve spent a lot of time in recent years quite literally looking over the shoulders of GPs and practice staff to understand the challenges they face. I’ve seen the pressures first hand.
So I can understand why GPs wanted to punish the previous government. But taking collective action will only punish patients. The Conservatives already got the kicking they deserved at the general election.
I want to reset the relationship between GPs and their government. We have an historic opportunity to be the generation that took our NHS from the worst crisis in its history, got it back on its feet and made it fit for the future. 
I’m asking GPs to work with us, so we can rebuild the NHS and deliver the service patients deserve.
Wes Streeting is the Health Secretary