GP surgeries in England are to receive additional funding as part of a plan to help them see more patients face-to-face.
The plan, published today by the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care, is part of a drive to support general practice and level up performance, including additional efforts to tackle abuse against staff.
It also makes clear that every GP practice must seek patients’ input and respect preferences for face-to-face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary.
However, doctors have heavily criticised the measures as “tinkering around the edges” and highlighted that government was failing to properly tackle the reasons for abusive patients.
The King’s Fund also emphasised that the lack of doctors and other healthcare staff was the real source of the problems.
British Medical Association GP committee chairman Dr Richard Vautrey said: “After weeks of promising an emergency package to rescue general practice, we’re hugely dismayed that while additional funding has been promised, the package as a whole offers very little and shows a government completely out of touch with the scale of the crisis on the ground.
“GPs and their teams will now be facing the worst winter for decades, and as a result, patients’ care will suffer.
“Appointments will be harder to book, waiting times will get longer, more of the profession could leave and GPs will struggle to cope.”
He added: “Unfortunately, today’s offer merely tinkers around the edges, and will not reduce the unnecessary burden practices carry and and therefore free up any more time for doctors to see more patients.”
Measures announced include:
- A £250m winter access fund from NHS England, which will enable GP practices to improve availability so that patients who need care can get it, often on the same day if needed. The investment will fund locums and support from other health professionals such as physiotherapists and podiatrists, with a focus on increasing capacity to boost urgent same-day care.
- Local health systems will be free to determine how they tackle challenges to access and provision of care in their own community. This could include putting in place additional resource for walk-in consultations.
- Local plans that fail to provide appropriate levels of face to face care will not able to access the additional funding, and will instead be offered support to improve.
- The NHS will support upgrades to telephone systems, ensuring that more patients can speak to general practice staff, and help patients avoid long waits when phoning their surgery.
- Government will aim to reduce administrative burdens on GPs by reforming who can provide medical evidence and certificates such as FIT notes and DVLA checks.
- The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will complete its review of infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance in general practice and set out practical steps on IPC measures in GP settings which could increase the number of patients that can be seen by their GP.
- GP appointment data will be published at practice level by spring next year.
- Patients will be able to rate their practice’s performance, via text message. This is being piloted in around 60 practices and will be rolled out next year.
- Alongside government and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the NHS will develop a zero-tolerance campaign on abuse of NHS staff, including GP teams.
- Patients will be able to see different types of clinicians in general practice, best equipped to meet their needs and conditions, including pharmacists, paramedics, advanced nurse practitioners and nursing associates. NHS England and government will consider how the role of pharmacists can be increased in the supply of medication to relieve GP workloads.
Improving access is essential
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS, said: “Improving access to high quality general practice is essential for our patients and for the rest of the NHS too.
“It is a personal priority and today NHS England is taking both urgent and longer term action to back GPs and their teams with additional investment and support”.
Secretary of state for health and social care Sajid Javid said: “I am determined to ensure patients can see their GP in the way they want, no matter where they live. I also want to thank GPs and their teams for their enormous efforts in the most challenging times in living memory.
“Our new plan provides general practice teams with investment and targeted support. This will tackle underperformance, taking pressure off staff so they can spend more time with patients and increase the number of face-to-face appointments.”
Further measures to tackle abuse and harassment so staff at GP surgeries are also being included in the announcement.
Health minister Maria Caulfield added: “As a nurse on the frontline during the pandemic I know how hard GPs and their teams have worked, while recognising how badly so many people want to see their GPs in person.
“This plan will give our dedicated general practices the support needed to increase capacity, boosting the number of appointments for patients to see and speak to their GP practice
“I look forward to continuing to work with the sector to ensure patients can get the care they need.”
Something needs to be done
Also commenting on today’s announcement, Beccy Baird, senior fellow at The King’s Fund, said with patients finding it difficult to get an appointment, it was clear something needed to be done.
“Recent experience shows that there simply aren’t enough GPs and other primary care staff to meet the demand for appointments,” she said.
“The additional funding announced today may help, but many practices already have vacancies that they are unable to fill, and in some areas even locum GPs are hard to find.
“This means other measures will be equally important, particularly the expansion of local, on-site support to practices for IT systems and making better use of the available space in their buildings.”
Baird highlighted that the way people were accessing general practice was changing quickly, with the introduction of new clinical roles, more remote consultations and triage systems.
“These different ways of accessing care all have a role to play but practices will need support to work with their local communities to put in place the best possible systems to meet the needs of their patients, while making sure they can continue to provide safe and effective care,” she added.