Thursday, March 28, 2024
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GPs should give up independent status

General practitioners should give up their independent contractor status and become NHS employees. This is the most radical alternative method of primary care funding considered by Professor Azeem Majeed, head of the department of primary care & public health at Imperial College London, in an editorial published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Professor Majeed, who also works as a part-time GP in South London, suggests that the funding of primary care should also be modified in favour of methods that link workload more closely to funding.

Funding and purchase for MedicX

£25m funding boost for MedicX

Cameron announces £50m fund for 12/7 GP access pilots

Independent out of hours primary care providers such as Care UK could benefit from additional funding the Government is providing for 7-day access to general practice.. The Government has announced people will be able to see their GP seven days a week and out of office hours under new proposals set out by the Prime Minister for a first wave of pioneer’ GP groups offering extended opening hours across the country from 2014/15. The Government says the move will make it easier for people see their family doctor from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. It will help thousands who struggle to find GP appointments that fit in with their family and work life,’ a statement from the Department of Health said. GPs wishing to want to access the extra funding will be able to apply to a new £50m challenge fund to set up a pioneer’ programme. Pioneers’ will be established in each of the nine regions of the country which are expected to cover up to half a million patients.

PHP continues on acquisition trail

Primary Health Properties, the UK investor in modern primary healthcare facilities, has acquired three modern, purpose built medical centres for a total consideration of £9.55m. They are in:

GP practice unevenly distributed

Changing health needs are prompting a number of GPs to build organisations capable of preserving the personal, local nature of general practice whilst offering their patients and communities a greater range of services, according to an independent review by the Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund for the former NHS Midlands and East Strategic Health Authority.

OFT approves SSP Merseyside contract

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has approved the award of contracts to SSP Health Ltd, the primary care practice provider, to manage and operate 22 medical practices in Merseyside.

PHP acquires Primary Health Care Centres

Primary Health Properties (PHP), the investor in modern primary healthcare facilities, has acquired the entire issued share capital of Primary Health Care Centres Limited (PHCC), an investor in primary care and pharmacy properties in the UK.

GPs are telling patients to go private

GPs are advocating private treatment to patients due to the limitations of clinical commissioning group (CCGs), according to Spire Healthcare. 70% of GPS tell patients who don’t meet requirements for procedures of limited clinical effectiveness, they should go private. 62% of GPs are telling patients to wait until their condition worsens. Spire Healthcare has surveyed 824 GPs in England to learn about procedures limited by their CCG and the advice they give to patients who do not meet the eligibility criteria set for surgery. 63% of GPs – up from 30% in 2011** - are indicating to their patients that they should consider using their private medical insurance where they have this. 80% of GP-led CCG’s appear to have identified their procedures of limited clinical effectiveness’ (PoLCE). Surgery for varicose veins, tonsillectomy, carpal tunnel syndrome and hernia repair topped the list - despite varicose vein and hernia surgery being two of the four NHS funded procedures followed up using Patient Reported Outcome Measures or PROMs. One in six GPs also stated that knee arthroscopy, knee replacement, hip replacement and cataract surgery, have also been either restricted of had their criteria for proceeding to surgery increased.

NHS 111 runs into problems

The new NHS non-emergency telephone line, NHS 111 hit a bump in the road last month as one of the providers, NHS Direct, admitted that offering the service in some areas would be unsustainable’.

Monitor assesses GP services

Monitor is to examine the commissioning and provision of GP services in England to see if there are barriers preventing patients from securing access to the best possible care. The health sector regulator wants to hear from patients, GPs, commissioners and other providers of primary and secondary care.