Patients with high need should get own GP, says government

Patients most "in need" should be able to see the same doctor at every appointment in their local GP surgery, the government says.

GPs will be rewarded financially if they do this and if they go "above and beyond" preventing common killers like heart disease or treating high blood pressure early, it says.

The measures are included in proposed changes to the GP contract in England - the government says it will add an extra £889m to the existing budget.

The doctors' union, the BMA, which will now consult its members on the proposals, says GP practices have been worried about finances but this could provide "an important lifeline".

The Royal College of GPs described the increase in budget as "positive news for patients and the wider NHS" and welcomed measures to tackle the "bureaucratic burden", but warned there was a long way to go.

RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: "While we hope this package announced today will help stabilise general practice and provide some much-needed certainty for hardworking GPs and our teams, there is a long road ahead."

Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, of the BMA, said GP practices across the country had been "frantic with worry" around the impact of the "crippling rise" in national insurance contributions from April.

"Hopefully today's news provides an important lifeline for our 6,000 plus practices, and we are committed to reaching consensus around the management of the additional business pressures that practices will face in the new financial year," she said.

She said she hoped the funding announcement "would be looked back on as a positive starting point for an evolving conversation" and looked forward to seeing further details.

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Source: BBC News, 20 December 2024