Matthew has welcomed the pledge in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto to create 50 million extra appointments in GP surgeries each year.

To do this, the Conservatives have announced a package to increase the number of NHS staff, improve international recruitment and retention of domestic staff, and train an extra 500 GPs a year from 2021-22.

These additional appointments, by 2024-25, will be made possible by the delivery of 6,000 more GPs and 6,000 more nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists. 

The announcement follows a visit to a GP surgery in Hendon by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the beginning of the month. At the meeting, Matthew made the point that it is important that additional funding for the NHS goes to GP services as well as hospitals.

Matthew said: “The Conservative Party have been the stewards of the NHS for the majority of its existence, and the lies spread by Labour that we want to privatise it are ridiculous.

“The majority of people access health services through their GP, so I am delighted at the manifesto announcement that we will ensure that this extra funding goes into our local GPs."

Matthew is pictured with the Prime Minister and a local GP in Hendon.