The first groups of GPs who will take the lead in the Government’s plans for commissioning health services were announced today by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.
The 52 groups of GP practices from across England have been selected to be the first to take on commissioning responsibilities as part of the Government’s plans set out in the NHS White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. The groups selected, known as pathfinders, will work together to manage their local budgets and commission services for patients direct with other NHS colleagues and local authorities.
The pathfinders will now begin testing the new commissioning arrangements to ensure they are working well before more formal arrangements come into place. By being in charge of the decisions that affect their patients, the pathfinders will be able to commission high quality care tailored to the specific needs of their patients and the wider community.
The GP pathfinders announced today include 1860 GP practices that provide healthcare to 12.8 million people across England. This means around a quarter of the population can start to benefit from their doctors’ proven clinical leadership, good partnership working with local authorities, and innovative ways of engaging with patients and the local community. This is just the start - more GP consortia have come forward to join the pathfinder programme which will enable as many consortia as possible to test out the new arrangements at an early stage before GP consortia take on statutory responsibilities from April 2013.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:
“We want to create an NHS that puts patients at the heart of everything it does and is focused on achieving health outcomes that are amongst the best in the world.
“Already leading the way and making this happen are the GPs selected to be pathfinders. I am delighted by the response and the evident enthusiasm for taking these ideas forward. They have demonstrated an enthusiasm and excitement for change and shown that there are many GPs ready and willing to take on commissioning responsibilities, so they can make the decisions that better meet the needs of their local communities and improve outcomes for their patients. This first wave of pathfinders is just the start, many more GPs have already come forward to be included in the rolling programme of approved pathfinders and more will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
“When we made a historic commitment to protect health spending, we committed to getting the best value from the health budget and make every penny count for patients. This means cutting bureaucracy and simplifying the NHS structure so that we are able to reinvest savings into what matters most – frontline services.”
Where consortia have been formed, patients are already benefiting from local commissioning and healthcare services tailored to their needs. For example, Newcastle Bridges consortium serves an area of significant deprivation with high levels of ill health. The most ethnically diverse population of any consortia in the north east, clinicians there are working collaboratively with the local authority to achieve strong, locally led commissioning for the city. One of their key aims is to work closely with community and hospital based staff to ensure seamless care for local neighbourhoods. Already, A&E attendances in the city have declined by one per cent a year for the last five years.
Also in Bexley, the local NHS identified a strong need for improving cardiology services. As a result of successful local commissioning, patients are now being taken from their doorstep directly to Harley Street clinic where they can receive CT scans. This takes a fraction of the time than the more traditional methods which involve exercise testing, nuclear scans of the heart and invasive angiography, and has helped prevent the further need for unnecessary invasive treatments, as well making significant savings for the NHS.
GP pathfinders will be supported by the National Clinical Commissioning Network, the National Leadership Council, and by national primary care bodies, such as the Royal College of GP's Centre for Commissioning.
Notes to Editors
1. The NHS White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS was published on 12 July 2010 and the associated consultations can be found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/LiberatingtheNHS/index.htm
2. The number of GP practices and people per strategic health authority covered by the new GP consortia is as follows:
A full list of GP Pathfinders included in the first wave of the Pathfinder Programme can be found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/pathfinderlearningnetwork
3. For further information, please contact the Department of Health press office on 020 7210 5221.
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