At a meeting of Welwyn Hatfield Council last week Labour Councillors proposed a motion calling for new, additional GP provision in Welwyn Hatfield to support the existing population as well as the thousands of new homes contained within the Conservatives local plan.

Councillor Kieran Thorpe said “We all know that this is unsustainable. A growing population means growing demand for GP Doctors. We have some fantastic GPs here but we all know that getting a GP appointment gets harder all the time”

The motion called for the Council to write to the local MP, County Council leader and chair of the East and North Hertfordshire CCG to call for urgent multi-agency action to deliver increased GP coverage.

The Conservative Council however rejected this and used their numerical advantage within the Council chamber to remove the urgency, remove the cross Party, cross Council action and simply refer the issue to a small committee at Hertfordshire County Council.

Reflecting on the outcome of the vote, Cllr Thorpe said “if you won’t send this letter to the MP and local clinical groups, send the letter to me and I’ll deliver on behalf of local residents”