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PCC Statement: Patient and Client Council welcomes Report on Access to General Practice in Northern Ireland

4 December 2025

The Patient and Client Council (PCC) has welcomed the Public Accounts Committee’s Report on Access to General Practice. PCC provided evidence to the Committee in February 2025.

Speaking on the findings of the report, Meadhbha Monaghan, PCC Chief Executive said:

“The findings of the report, and in particular the clear feedback from the public, echoes PCC’s experience of supporting individuals and families as they navigate access to GP and primary care services across the region.

“We welcome the approach taken by the Public Accounts Committee in developing this report - they listened to the public at scale.

“They have rightly acknowledged that engaging with and listening to the voice of the public is vital to improving GP and primary care services, as well as the daily experiences of both patients and General Practice staff.

“The PCC recognises the hard work and dedication of GPs and the invaluable service they deliver in an increasingly challenging environment.  Whilst the work undertaken by the Committee demonstrates that there is variation in the public’s experiences, it also highlights the very real difficulties facing the public in accessing GP and primary care services and the general sense of frustration that their experience has not been heard and acted upon.

 “People bring expertise through their experience; we could add so much value across health and social care and deliver better outcomes, if patients, clients and professionals were able to work together as partners. People and their communities are great problem solvers and could help shape and reshape services in partnership, if embraced to do so. 

“There is a clear need to better triangulate and learn from existing data and insights about GP services and patient experience - and fill the gaps where that data and intelligence does not exist.  

“PCC recently launched What the Public Think, an attitudinal report on People’s Experiences of Health and Social Care. Its findings support the call to increase public awareness of the most appropriate pathways of care. Our report shows that many people do not know the care options available to them - this is more acute amongst certain groups.  Unless we take a regionalised approach to addressing these issues, we will miss opportunities to learn from best practice”

Speaking on the report and what should happen next, PCC Chair, Ruth Sutherland CBE, said:

“The HSC system as a whole needs to take a more strategic approach to engaging with the public to ensure existing and future services are safe, sustainable and best meet the needs of our diverse communities. This is even more important in a period of significant and growing financial constraint.

“The PCC recently published a report, People to Partners, which provides a number of recommendations on how the HSC system and the NI Government can deliver a more strategic approach to engaging the public in partnership, to shape services, improve our health and tackle persistent health inequalities. 

“I welcome the Department of Health’s recent Reset Plan and the opportunities it presents to develop a new relationship between the public and health and social care services, with regional oversight. The response from the public to the work of the Committee on GP Access demonstrates a clear appetite to be involved in improving services across Northern Ireland. 

“PCC is committed to working with the Department and the GP sector to support a regional and strategic approach, to actively listen and learn from the public and communities going forward”.