NHS England has launched a consultation exercise to help shape the future of general practice services in England. The main purpose of this particular ‘call to action’ (which forms part of the wider ‘call to action’ that NHS England launched on 11 July 2013) is to stimulate debate in local communities as to how best to develop general practice services.
The supporting case for change documents highlight the increasingly unsustainable pressures that general practice and wider primary care services face such as:-
- An ageing population, growing co-morbidities and increasing patient expectations, resulting in large increase in consultations, especially for older patients,
- Increasing pressure on NHS financial resources, which will intensify further from 2015/16
- Growing dissatisfaction with access to services.
- Persistent inequalities in access & quality of primary care, including twofold variation in GPs and nurses per head of population between more and less deprived areas
- Growing reports of workforce pressures including recruitment and retention problems
The aim is to enable general practice to play an even stronger role at the heart of more integrated out-of-hospital services that deliver better health outcomes, more personalised care, excellent patient experience and the most efficient possible use of NHS resources.
For more information click here
To download PDFs please click on the following links:
- Slide pack – which describes the case for change and our underlying objectives for general practice
- Evidence pack – which provides some information about current general practice and health needs