To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the work of the GP Access group in his Department.

I recognise the importance of access to GP services for patients. My Department established a GP Access Working Group, which includes GP and service-user representation, to explore issues around accessing services and to oversee work to improve the experience for patients.

The working group has engaged with Department Communications Team around patient messaging and is exploring how telephony and related technologies can be best deployed to deliver improvements to the process for accessing services for patients and practices alike.

Work is also ongoing to develop guidance for practices in the management of patient demand and optimising workflow within practices to maximise efficiency.

The GP Access Working group is an important part of wider work to ensure that patients across all Northern Ireland can benefit from timely access to high quality, sustainable services in their local communities both now and in the future.