December 2024
Starting from:
£99 + VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference focused on next steps for general practice and primary care in England, and discuss priorities for the Government as it prepares development of its 10-year plan for the NHS expected in the spring, alongside a revised NHS Long Term Workforce Plan next summer - which is expected to include plans to increase the number of GPs.
The conference also took place following the announcement in the Budget of £22.6bn in funding to support NHS services, diagnostic centres and estates, including a dedicated fund to improve GP practices, provision of 40,000 extra hospital appointments per week to cut waiting lists, and support for local health services, with at least £600m in new grant funding for adult and child social care.
It was an opportunity to examine the Health Secretary’s recently announced plans to place GPs at the centre of a shift from hospital to primary and community care with an emphasis on family doctor relationships and ICBs leading the development of care, backed by increased recruitment of GPs and use of technology, infrastructure investment, and a reduction of bureaucracy. It followed the recommendations in Lord Darzi’s Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England that spending should be focused on helping general practice expand and adapt to the growing number of older patients with long-term conditions.
Stakeholders and policymakers assessed practicalities and priorities moving forward, looking at plans for reforming and improving patient access to primary care, including the trial of neighbourhood health centres, the return of the family doctor, using pharmacist powers to ease pressures on GPs, and increasing the proportion of NHS resources going into primary care.
Lord Darzi’s investigation argued that GPs are managing increasingly complex care but lacking the resources and infrastructure to carry it out, and that the resourcing of primary care was being neglected in comparison to that of hospitals, with the CQC’s latest State of Health and Care report also highlighting the unprecedented pressure that the primary care workforce is experiencing. Delegates discussed next steps for managing patients with multiple conditions in primary care, and the rebalancing of investment that the Health Secretary will need to consider in order to prioritise prevention and community care as the 10-year plan for the NHS is developed for publication next spring.
We expected discussion to include options for moving toward a ‘family doctor’ style of general practice in the context of increased delivery of appointments since the pandemic, an increase in additional roles to improve care delivery and access to general practice, and challenges with appointment booking systems. Further discussion was expected on the practicalities of implementing neighbourhood health centres, building the evidence base, and learning from abroad to design an approach that addresses challenges around resourcing, infrastructure and staffing.
Those attending also considered the outlook for the GP contract, including options for improving the funding and resourcing of general practice and primary care, and supporting the sustainability of practices in light of concerns over the increase to national insurance employer contributions announced in the Budget, against the backdrop of a move towards a preventative healthcare model.
The conference was also an opportunity to discuss priorities for the primary care workforce following the BMA’s work-to-rule action for GPs. Attendees considered strategies for increasing the availability of GP jobs and training places, and the funding and capacity involved in meeting the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan.
Further sessions examined options for improving staff retention and well-being, including the impact of the Health Secretary’s red tape challenge to reduce bureaucracy, considering the outlook for creating additional roles. It came in light of the BMA voting to phase out physician associates within general practice and the Health Secretary launching a review into their role, with discussion looking at strategies for more effective and efficient use of the existing skill mix within primary care, such as the scope for pharmacists to provide more diagnosis and prescriptions.
We are pleased to have been able to include keynote sessions with: Jake Beech, Policy Fellow, The Health Foundation; Prof Aruna Garcea, Chair, Primary Care Network Advisory Group, NHS Confederation; Prof Kamila Hawthorne, Chair, RCGP; and Dr Samira Anane, GP; and Deputy Chair, GP Committee England, BMA.
All delegates were able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those that attended include officials from DHSC; DBT; HM Treasury; HMPPS; MOJ; NAO; and The Scottish Government.
