Recommendation 40

HM Government Accepted

Accept. The Department accepts this recommendation. The Fuller stocktake also noted the importance of organisational support, and made a recommendation to Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to co-design and put in place appropriate infrastructure and support for all neighbourhood teams, including HR, data, and estates management. All 42 ICSs have signed up to implement the recommendations made by the stocktake. The Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care includes organisational support offers for Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and practices. NHS England will provide all practices with the digital tools and care navigation training for Modern General Practice Access, and fund transition cover for those that commit to adopt this approach before March 2025. This will be complemented by the training and transformation offer in the new National General Practice Improvement Programme, available to all practices. There is also existing and upcoming organisational support via PCNs—for example the funded Clinical Director role, and additional funding for Leadership and Management —and upcoming work via implementation of the Fuller Stocktake, to offer support and expertise to Integrated Care Systems. Current examples of at-scale working, such as integration with community or acute trusts, or the establishment of federations, involve the support of practices through shared back-office functions. This has been shown to bring additional benefits such as using data for population health management and preventative care. Some areas may wish to go further and consider whether working at scale could be beneficial in their local circumstances.