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Health secretary Sajid Javid says the current primary care model is ‘not working’

Health secretary Sajid Javid says the current primary care model is ‘not working’
By Caitlin Tilley
16 June 2022



Health secretary Sajid Javid set out a ‘plan for change’ for primary care, as the current model is ‘not working’, he announced at the NHS Confederation Expo conference.

 Mr Javid said the first priority would be pharmacy, with plans to be set out ‘shortly’.

He said: ‘I’m grateful to all primary care staff who make a difference to millions of people every single day, but I don’t think our current model of primary care is working. 

‘That won’t be a surprise to you. You know, and I think patients know, and everyone working in primary care. We need a plan for change. We’re starting with pharmacy, but I will be setting out my plan shortly.’

Speaking yesterday at the same conference, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard also expressed that ‘the current model of general practice isn’t working as well as it should’.

She said: ‘GPs and the rapidly growing team of other primary care professionals provide treatments and advice and support to more than a million patients every day. 

‘But it’s clear, isn’t it? That the current model of general practice isn’t working as well as it should.’

In March, Mr Javid backed a report that recommended phasing out the GMS contract by 2030, with the majority of GPs contracted by scaled providers such as hospital trusts.

Pulse revealed that Government officials had visited Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s salaried GP model to explore ‘alternative ways to deliver primary care’.

A report from The Times in January that Sajid Javid was planning a review of primary care, which could see GPs incentivised to join up with trusts in a model like that in Wolverhampton.

Ms Pritchard last week rejected former health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s request for GPs to keep individual patient lists to improve continuity of care.

And landmark review led by Claire Fuller last month recommended that urgent same-day appointments should being dealt with by ‘single, urgent care teams’ across larger populations rather than the patient’s own GP practice.

Speaking at the NHS Confederation Expo conference, Mr Javid said the first priority would be pharmacy, with plans to be set out ‘shortly’.

He said: ‘I’m grateful to all primary care staff who make a difference to millions of people every single day, but I don’t think our current model of primary care is working. 

‘That won’t be a surprise to you. You know, and I think patients know, and everyone working in primary care. We need a plan for change. We’re starting with pharmacy, but I will be setting out my plan shortly.’

Speaking yesterday at the same conference, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard also expressed that ‘the current model of general practice isn’t working as well as it should’.

She said: ‘GPs and the rapidly growing team of other primary care professionals provide treatments and advice and support to more than a million patients every day. 

‘But it’s clear, isn’t it? That the current model of general practice isn’t working as well as it should.’

In March, Mr Javid backed a report that recommended phasing out the GMS contract by 2030, with the majority of GPs contracted by scaled providers such as hospital trusts.

Pulse revealed that Government officials had visited Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s salaried GP model to explore ‘alternative ways to deliver primary care’.

A report from The Times in January that Sajid Javid was planning a review of primary care, which could see GPs incentivised to join up with trusts in a model like that in Wolverhampton.

Ms Pritchard last week rejected former health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s request for GPs to keep individual patient lists to improve continuity of care.

And landmark review led by Claire Fuller last month recommended that urgent same-day appointments should being dealt with by ‘single, urgent care teams’ across larger populations rather than the patient’s own GP practice.

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