David Cameron pledges seven-day GP service by 2020
pharmafile | October 5, 2015 | News story | Medical Communications | NHS, david cameron
Millions of patients will benefit from ground-breaking plans for seven-day access to both their GPs and hospitals, British Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed.
Cameron detailed plans for a new, voluntary contract for GPs to deliver seven-day care for all patients by 2020, at the 2015 Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, as well as unveiling proposals to deliver seven-day hospital services across half the country by 2018.
The Government says these are the next steps in making England the first country in the world to provide a truly seven-day health service, underpinned by a strong economy and £10 billion of investment in the NHS.
David Cameron says: “Our plans for a truly seven-day NHS will transform services for millions of patients. It will offer hardworking taxpayers and families the security of the care they need at a time that is convenient to them. I want to pay tribute to the fantastic work of GPs and indeed all NHS staff across the country.
“I know they face huge pressures – that is why we will direct more money into primary care and clear out bureaucracy as part of the drive to develop a new contract that will be better for patients and NHS professionals, seven days a week.
The government adds: “The new contract will remove the bureaucratic box-ticking of the 2004 GP contract – freeing up GP time to provide the quality of care that they and their patients want. Micro-management of GPs’ work through the Quality and Outcomes Framework and other sorts of old-fashioned bureaucracy will be scrapped, giving doctors far greater professional control.
It said it has listened to GP leaders who say that the time has come for a new, voluntary contract option for general practice, integrated with community nurses and other health and care professionals, to provide more seamless, person-centric care for patients.
The Government also claims the new contract will be better for GPs and patients, and would be funded by the £10 billion of additional investment on the back of a strong economy.
As part of a new “patient guarantee”, the Prime Minister announced that the government intends to make it a requirement in its new mandate to NHS England that they and clinical commissioning groups should ensure that every patient has access to seven-day services by 2020.
Last year, the Prime Minister pledged to provide seven-day GP services for hardworking families throughout the country by 2020. The government says that by March, 18 million people will have benefited from improved access to general practice, including appointments in the evening, at the weekend and by phone.
However, the Royal College of GPs has criticised the plan, with RCGP president Maureen Baker saying it is “unachievable,” and “risks destabilising care.”
Yasmita Kumar
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