Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure the continued development of GP networks.

The Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund has enabled groups of general practitioner (GP) practices, often collaborating with others such as community pharmacies or ambulance services, to provide new and expanded services together. Operating under a single contract within a local area and sharing work and resources has enabled the 2,500 practices in the programme to significantly develop their networks.

Most of the GP Access Fund schemes have, through the programme, strengthened their arrangements for collaboration, developed a more prominent identity with patients, and grown their leadership and management capabilities. This has been facilitated by the support programme put in place by NHS England, helping the networks to make faster progress on issues such as information technology, governance and care redesign. It has also built a legacy of more cohesive and capable teams for the future.

NHS England has supported the creation of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ network of federations, which is growing rapidly as a high quality resource for practices wishing to deepen their collaboration and improve services for patients. Funding for this to continue into 2016/17 has been confirmed.

The New Care Models Programme is also supporting networks of GP practices to come together with community, mental health and hospital services to provide more joined-up care for patients.