First GP consortia named
pharmafile | December 9, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Lansley, NHS, consortia, reforms
The first consortia of GPs who will spearhead England’s healthcare reforms have been unveiled.
A total of 52 consortia from across England are to be the first to take on commissioning responsibilities in a pilot study.
The DH said only a few dozen consortia had been expected to apply to be in the first wave, but the ‘pathfinders’, will cover nearly a quarter of patients in England.
The greater than expected uptake is a boost for health secretary Andrew Lansley. His radical health reforms, unveiled in July’s White Paper: Liberating the NHS has been criticised by doctors’ leaders and think tanks, which say the reforms go too far too fast.
The reforms give the consortia financial and commissioning power back, controlling around 80% of the total £105 billion NHS budget by 2013.
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.
“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.”
Lansley also said that GPs have demonstrated an “enthusiasm and excitement for change” and shown that there are “many GPs ready and willing to take on commissioning responsibilities”.
One critics of the reforms said the speedy uptake was not necessarily proof that doctors believed they were a good move. Dr Richard Vautrey, from the BMA’s GP Committee, told the BBC that the number of GP groups coming forward did not surprise him.
“GPs have recognised that they will need to get involved in this programme,” he said.
“They know that difficult savings decisions will need to be made in the coming year and want to be involved in making those together with the PCT.”
Consortia great and small
The government has not determined how big consortia need to be, and the pathfinder groups show a great deal of variation in size.
The Newcastle Bridges consortium will cover a population of 161,110, covering around half the area currently served by Newcastle PCT
Meanwhile in nearby Country Durham, the new consortium will have virtually the same boundaries and patient population (600,000) as the existing County Durham PCT.
The smallest pathfinder consortium will be the Red House Group in Hertfordshire, with a population of 18,900, and the biggest is in Oxfordshire, with a population of 672,000.
A full list of the 52 groups can be found on the Department of Health’s website.
Ben Adams
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