Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Conclusion 21
Fourth Report - The future of general practice
Published 20 Oct 2022
Paragraph 79
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee The future of General Practice All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We believe that continuity of care is one of the most important goals for NHS general practice. There is a wealth of evidence that higher levels of continuity of care in general practice are better for both patients and GPs themselves. Continuity of care is more efficient for GPs, improves their shared decision making with patients, and provides them with greater professional satisfaction and development. More importantly, it improves patients’ experience of their care and leads to significantly improved outcomes including reduced hospital and A&E attendances. And rather than being impossible given current pressures there is also evidence to suggest 42 The future of general practice that high continuity is also a more efficient use of resources. One way to improve continuity would be to cap individual GP list sizes, which we believe is a pragmatic solution that should be explored as outlined later in this report.
From: Health and Social Care Committee, Fourth Report - The future of general practice (HC 113), paragraph 79, 20 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 24 July 2023 (deadline 20 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's report and responds to each recommendation, accepting some, partially accepting most and not accepting others.
- It accepts recommendations on distributing GP trainees more equitably, receptionist training and simplifying the patient interface across Integrated Care Systems; it also accepts the call for more back-office organisational support for GPs.
- It "partially accepts" the call for 1,000 more GP training places a year and a four-year scheme: the Long Term Workforce Plan sets an "ambition" to rise from 4,000 to 6,000 places by 2031/32, and there is "no plan to extend GP training beyond three years".
- It does not accept the recommendations to return to personal lists, to cap list sizes, or to fund PCN continuity leads, saying PCNs and practices are best placed to decide their own workforce and approach.
- On a national continuity measure it will "consider how best to measure continuity of care" but says it "would not therefore be appropriate to commit to introducing a measure by 2024".