Public urged to help NHS England cut no-show appointments Technology is being used to cut the numbers of missed GP and outpatient appointments, NHS England will announced Monday. Figures have suggested that more than twelve million GP appointments are missed each year in the UK, costing in excess of £162 million per year. A further […]

From 1 April 2014, GP practices will be offered the opportunity to take part in an enhanced service which is designed to reduce avoidable unplanned admissions by improving services for the most vulnerable patients and those with complex physical or mental health needs.  The key components of the enhanced service will be for practices to: […]

NHS England has today published the arrangements it will apply to ensure the most effective use of resources for Personal Medical Services (PMS). PMS is a locally-agreed alternative to General Medical Service (GMS) for providers of general practice. NHS England area teams will be reviewing PMS contracts over the next two years to ensure that […]

NHS England is today inviting GP surgeries to apply for part of a £50m ‘Challenge Fund’ to pilot improvements in access to appointments for up to half a million patients. As part of the Challenge Fund at least nine pilots will be set up with at least one in each region of England to support […]

Data about hospital and GP services, Clinical Commissioning Group outcomes and local authority health information is now available in easily-navigable, interactive format on the NHS Choices website. Most of the 201 datasets were previously available on the NHS Choices site, apart from 40 indicators about GP practice standards and performance, used by the NHS to […]

NHS leaders in London have announced the first step in a radical transformation of GP services in London. General Practice – A Call to Action, which is published today (Thursday 28 November 2013), was produced in partnership with some of London’s leading doctors. The aspiration is to transform GP services so they are more convenient, […]

Patients are set to benefit from changes to the GP contract which will reduce bureaucracy and free GPs to deliver personalised care. The changes will ensure that the most vulnerable patients receive personalised care. This will mean more patients can be looked after in the community and will reduce emergency admissions.  GPs will be freed […]

GP practices are to be warned that they will be in breach of contract if they do not take all reasonable steps to stop their patients being asked to use 084 numbers for appointments and advice. The national office of NHS England is writing to all its 27 Area Teams from today – see the […]

NHS England is engaging with local communities, clinicians and stakeholders, about the best possible way to develop general practice for the future. NHS England wants 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 […]

NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have announced the start of a new procurement process for an expanded framework of services and solutions for GP practices. The new GP System of Choice (GPSoC) contract will build on the success of the existing contract that has been in place since 2007. […]