Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GPs are able to routinely to offer 15 minute, or longer, consultations where necessary for patients with greater needs.
Alistair Burt
It is important that practices are free to meet the needs of individual patients according to clinical need. Therefore there is no requirement on general practitioner practices to offer appointments of a specific length or a specific mix of workforce to meet population need.
However, in recognition of the increased demands being placed on general practice, NHS England has:
1. Placed a requirement on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2016/17 to develop and implement a local plan to address the sustainability and quality of general practice, including workforce and workload issues. This is the first time specific requirements have been placed on local commissioners to support and develop general practice.
2. Provided advice about specific ways to invest in general practice for National Health Service leaders as they prepare Sustainability and Transformation Plans for the future. In both of these, there is a dual focus on maintaining quality and access to care in existing services, while also supporting the introduction of new ways of working. Areas where support is required include increased funding, growth and diversification in the workforce, development of premises and information technology, and specific help to develop networks and federations with patient benefit at their heart.
The ‘General Practice Forward View’ released in April 2016, announced a major new programme of development and improvement support for practices over the next three years. This will help groups of practices to redesign care in order to simultaneously release staff time and improve care for patients. As part of the development programme, support and advice will be provided to federations and CCGs on ways to engage patients and voluntary and community sector groups as partners. This will help local people shape priorities, contribute to the co-design of improved services and build assets in the community.
