Labour pledges to increase GP training places to 5000 and scrap prescription charges

The Labour Party has said that it will increase the number of GP trainees in England by around 43%—from 3500 to 5000 places—in order to relieve the strain on surgeries and reduce GP burnout, if elected.

Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth announced the promise at the party conference on 22 September, saying that it would help ease the burden on GPs and stop so many leaving the profession.

The party also announced it would scrap prescription charges, a move that the BMA has said will stop people having to “choose between paying a bill and buying food or paying for their prescription.”

Speaking at the conference, Ashworth said, “If you want to resolve the crisis in our …