GPs should be offered a completely new alternative contract to encourage them to ‘transform’ into larger units that provide a much wider range of community services and take responsibility for the social care of their patients, according to a radical report being considered by NHS chiefs. The report, drawn up jointly by the Nuffield Trust and King’s Fund think tanks, suggests that NHS England introduces a brand new contract ‘in parallel to the GMS contract’ to incentivise GPs to form networks or larger groups to provide services to improve mental health, elderly care and social care. It admits that GPs will need new ‘funding options’ in order to take on such a wide range of new services, but says that the profession should should be tasked with taking ‘collective responsibility’ for population health and social care across networks of practices. It also recommends that patient records should be accessible to pharmacists and social care to boost integration of services, and SUGGESTS A POT OF MONEY IS SET UP FOR GPS TO HAVE SOME TIME AWAY FROM SEEING PATIENTS SO THEY COULD PLAN CARE BETTER. The report was welcomed by Monitor, which recently launched a probe into GP services and said it would meet with the authors to discuss their recommendations. NHS England said the report was ‘helpful’ in informing its call for views on primary care provision as part of its longer-term strategy for the NHS under the Call to Action banner.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:06:42 +0000
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