Any number of organisations have looked at the possible
models of General Practice in England (see below for some recent examples). They have produced lots of glossy pages
describing the issues and possible models.
So we thought we would produce a short list of the possible
ways that a local community could get its GP service provided. In no particular order.
“The
Status Quo”. The
partnership option.
Under the current circumstances, unless the government
changes its attitude this is not a realistic option.
A Salaried
service with GPs.
a) Through
Foundation Trust Hospital – Vertical integration.
b) Through
private companies i) groups of GPs, ii) multi-national companies iii) venture
Funds etc.
A
nurse led service
This would probably be with GPs as community
specialists/consultants at a distance. (There would be no doctor as first point
of contact, no legal right to a GP).
Walk
In centres.
Patients would be triaged and referred onto the ‘appropriate’
Healthcare provider.
NHS111
All access to healthcare would be through NHS111 call
centres
Federation
GP practices merge or federate to form a large
organisation (Management & Admin merged to save money & probably staff
used across all sites rather than based on a specific site).
Investment
by Government
You never know it might happen. The government realises
that the current system is the envy of the world and invests to support the
development and innovation that has taken place over the last 30 years
I may look at the advantages and disadvantages of these
options at a future date.
Further
reading
Nuffield Trust
RCGP
Kings Fund
NHS England A call to action