Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the NHS England Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel to make a decision on GP out of hours services in the Shrewsbury and Telford and Wrekin ICB.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has communicated that the decision on general practice (GP) out-of-hours service in the Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin ICB will be published on 26 June 2025.
GPs are independent businesses who are contracted by National Health Service commissioners to perform medical services. The GP contract ensures that a consistent provision of healthcare is provided, including out of hours services which should be available to all patients in the Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin area. Decisions regarding these services are made locally and independently. Practices have the option to provide out-of-hours services directly, in which case they receive payment for doing so. If a practice chooses not to offer these services, arrangements must be made to ensure that an alternative provider delivers them for that practice’s registered patients. These decisions should not affect patients’ access to care.