Strengthening Family Doctor Services

4 May 2008 10:20 Africa/Lagos


Strengthening family doctor services

London, 4 May/GNN/ --

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH News Release (2008/0053) issued by The Government News
Network on 4 May 2008

PLEASE NOTE EMBARGO
Not for publication or broadcast before
0001 hours Monday 5 May 2008

New GP practices for under served areas and new proposals for £105 million
investment set out

Health Secretary Alan Johnson today (Monday) underlined the Government's
commitment to improving family doctor services alongside further plans to
tackle long-standing inequalities in GP provision.

Twelve new GP practices will be set up in some of the more poorly served
areas in England. A consultation will also shortly be launched with the BMA
on a proposed £105 million investment in existing GP practices to further
expand clinical services and to improve access for patients, as well as the
implementation of the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body annual recommendations
for GP pay.

New GP Practices

The twelve Primary Care Trusts benefitting from a new GP practice will
each receive over £1.1m by 2010/11 as their share of the £250m access fund
announced last autumn, to fund at least 100 new GP practices in the most
deprived areas and 152 GP-led health centres.

Areas with the fewest GPs have poorer general health and greater
deprivation. Some areas only have 43 GPs per 100,000 people compared to 88
GPs per 100,000 people in areas with the best coverage.

The new practices announced today will increase family doctor capacity in
places that need it most and offer a range of innovative services such
as extended opening hours and extended practice catchment areas as well
as increased choice of GP practices for patients and reduced pressure on
existing GP practices.

The first practices are expected to be open to patients in less than a year's
time. Primary Care Trusts will work with clinicians and the public to develop
patient services that reflect local needs and then look to potential providers
to come forward with innovative proposals for the new practices.

Consultation on investment in access and clinical services

We will also be consulting on proposals to invest an extra £105 million in
family doctor services to improve clinical services and care to patients,
deliver better access and improve the responsiveness of GP services, and
implement the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body annual recommendations for
GP pay.

The proposals in the consultation will be to invest around £50 million in
additional clinical services and to make available around a further £50
million for Primary Care Trusts to invest locally in improving access and
responsiveness of GP services for patients - including extended opening
hours and improvements to Surgery premises, or supporting practices that
are expanding to provide increased choice for local patients.

The proposals involve investment in a range of enhanced patient services:

* New measures to tackle heart failure;

* Spreading best practice on osteoporosis treatment;

* Annual health checks for people with severe learning disabilities;

* Better data recording to help improve patient care for people from black
and minority ethnic groups; and

* Increased support to overcome harmful drinking.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said:

"There has been some recent scaremongering about the future of GP
practices. Today's announcement shows we are not only committed to Britain's
excellent family doctor system, but also to expanding it, encouraging GPs
to provide more services, closer to where people live, so they don't have
to make so many unnecessary trips to hospital.

"The 152 health centres we are opening in towns and cities are funded with
new money and will sit alongside traditional general practice as an option
for patients who want very easy evening and weekend access to their GP.

"Improving access to primary care is also a key priority if we are to deliver
more personalised care that meets the needs of individuals and communities,
especially those in more disadvantaged or deprived areas. Evidence shows
there is a direct link between low numbers of GP surgeries and poor health
within a community.

"This is not just about building extra primary care capacity but developing
high-quality, responsive services with a strong focus on prevention. This is
a great opportunity for entrepreneurial GPs as well as social enterprises,
voluntary organisations and the independent sector to develop innovative
services for patients."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The full list of Primary Care Trusts (PCT) benefitting from an additional GP
practice is: Rotherham, Enfield, Bury, South Birmingham, Telford and Wrekin,
Newham, Gateshead, Coventry Teaching, Bristol, North Somerset, Middlesbrough
and East Lancashire.

2. The PCTs were identified using a calculation derived from Lord Darzi's
interim report as part of his Next Stage Review of the NHS.

3. In Lord Darzi's interim report as part of his Next Stage Review of the
NHS, the Department of Health announced at least 100 new GP practices will
be targeted in the 38 PCTs with the poorest GP provision.

4. The Doctors and Dentists Review Body recommendations for 2008/09 saw an
increase of 2.7% in payments to GP practices for providing core services
known as the Global Sum. Taking account of the cost of expenses and the
planned impact to correct factor payments would equate to a 0.2% increase
in GP earnings.

5. The broad framework of changes to the GP contract was agreed between
NHS Employers and the GPC of the BMA on 3 April The changes include the
additional 1.5% investment in primary care (£105 million), extended opening of
GP practices, a small number of changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework
and the continuation of the IM&T Directed Enhanced Service for a further year.

6. Last year the Government made it a priority to improve access to GP
services. Following changes recently agreed with the BMA, the NHS is now
working with GPs to give patients the opportunity to see their family doctor
at weekends or in the evening. On average, GP practices that take up the new
arrangements will be open for an extra three hours each week, at times that
reflect the needs and wishes of their patients.

7. Examples of innovation and best practice in primary care from around
the country are available by contacting the Department of Health press
office. Media enquires should be directed to the Department of Health press
office on 070500735811

[ENDS]



Source: Department of Health