The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) GP Committee says the publication of today’s Darzi report is the moment for ‘the revival and rebirth of general practice’.
The committee says the report has ‘accurately identified many of the major issues facing general practice’, but said it was now keen to hear from the Government what the solutions would be.
Lord Darzi was commissioned by the new Government in July to conduct an immediate and independent investigation into the NHS, which DAUK gave evidence to.
In his report, Lord Darzi said ‘spending in primary and community settings had a superior return on investment when compared with acute hospital services’.
He said ‘therefore it makes sense that this should be the fundamental strategic shift that the NHS aspires to make’.
But he said that GPs do not have the resources or infrastructure to manage and coordinate the ‘increasingly complex care’ that was expected of them.
Major issues
Dr Lizzie Toberty, DAUK’s GP lead, said: “Lord Darzi accurately identifies many of the major issues including poor buildings, lack of IT and an over focus on hospital, rather than community care.
“As GPs we are heartened he recognises how under-resourced we have been and the inequity between primary and secondary care resourcing.
“Lord Darzi rightly points out GPs have been the most financially disciplined part of the NHS.
“General practice, more specifically, the partnership model has proven how efficient, innovative and agile it can be again and again.
Dr Toberty called for clarity from the Government as to how it intends to solve the problems.
General practice
DAUK’s GP committee issued a 10-point plan before the general election to relieve the pressure on general practice, which included a call for a cross-party group to make longer term decisions for the health service.
Dr Toberty said: “Lord Darzi has identified the problems in general practice quite accurately, but his report is missing solutions.
“The Prime Minister is advocating for reform but we are not clear as to what that means or what the reform will be but we would urge the new Government to take this opportunity to look at introducing cross-party collaboration.”
Dr Toberty said another solution was to fund general practice ‘without restriction on who GPs can employ’.
She said: “Lord Darzi notes that GPs are best placed to know the community they serve and what their patients need.
“The funding needs to go directly to practices for them to use for their patients, without restrictions on who can be employed. The report rightly states that additional roles, such as physios and pharmacists, should supplement GPs, not replace them.”
Patient trust
Dr Toberty added: “When it comes to general practice, the government must realise bigger is not better.
“There is huge efficiency to be gained when GPs have the ability and time to build up trust and continuity with their patients.
“The evidence shows this provides better outcomes, lower admissions and higher patient satisfaction.
“If the benefits of continuity of care were a drug we would put it in the water.
“But these problems are not insurmountable.
“We estimate a starting point is £2 billion to restore to 2015 levels of funding. This is a relatively modest investment of £35 per patient per year – or the cost of a cup of coffee a month.
“This is the time for the revival and rebirth of general practice. Give partners some resource, protect the model and there is still time to save the NHS.”
Our vice-chair Dr Ellen Welch, a GP in the north west of England, has written about the issues facing general practice in her book Why Can’t I See My GP?, a copy of which was sent to every MP before the general election to put NHS at the top of the agenda.
Read Lord Darzi’s report in full.
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