The Government has announced a scheme that will allow doctors' surgeries to identify and give extra care to patients they believe are most at risk of becoming seriously unwell in the winter. The programme is funded by £40m reallocated from existing GP budgets for the financial year to April 2027.
The extra support will be targeted at patients with heart disease, frailty and lung conditions like emphysema and other types of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Medication reviews, health checks and respiratory clinics led by nurses are among the support that will be available for up to 300,000 people.
Funding and support details
Groups of GP practices can get £126 for each eligible patient supported. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was "not going to pretend this winter will be easy", but said the programme will help keep people well at home and avoid unnecessary trips to hospital.
Mr Burnham said: "If we want to take the pressure off our hospitals this winter, we've got to keep people well at home. So we're backing GPs to reach the most vulnerable people early, before a small problem turns into a trip to A&E.
"People deserve the right care in the right place. And our NHS staff, who work so hard, deserve the right tools to provide it.
"I'm not going to pretend this winter will be easy. But with new technology, upgrades for hospitals and more care available closer to home, we'll make sure the NHS is there for everyone when they need it."
Health Secretary's comments
Yvette Cooper, Health Secretary, said the scheme will provide more support for the frailest patients in the community.
"After such a heavy summer for our NHS as a result of the heat, everyone is working together to prepare for more challenging winter pressures," said Ms Cooper.
"That includes the roll out of flu vaccinations, investing in extra urgent care capacity and strengthening partnerships with social care.
"With thousands more GPs in post and millions more GP appointments this year, the £40m programme to support vulnerable patients in the community is part of our plan to help patients, improve primary care and also to support our NHS through the heavier winter months."
Reactions from nursing and opposition
A spokesperson for the Royal College of Nursing welcomed the scheme but said it needs to be the beginning of "long-term investment in the general practice nursing workforce".
"As winter fast approaches, measures to keep patients out of hospital can't come a moment too soon," the spokesperson said.
"This investment will rely on the whole general practice workforce to be a success, and it's vital that nursing is at the heart of planning and decision making in all elements of primary care.
"While this announcement will help boost short-term capacity, it needs to be the start of long-term investment in the general practice nursing workforce, many of whom are running on empty.
"This, alongside new funding to grow the number of district nurses, health visitors and other vital staff in the community, whose numbers have collapsed in recent years, is how we keep pressure off overwhelmed A&Es for good."
Shadow health secretary Damien Hinds said the Conservatives welcomed the Government's plans, adding: "GPs are the backbone of the NHS in our local communities, working incredibly hard to deliver for their patients.
"Under the last Conservative government, 50 million more GP appointments a year were delivered compared to 2019, and thousands more GPs were recruited in England to help make it easier for patients to see their doctor.
"Labour must deliver the same support and ensure this announcement isn't just a headline, but genuinely delivers for patients."
Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, said: "Of course keeping frail and vulnerable people well at home is the right thing to do. But this is a sticking plaster, paid for by raiding GP budgets that are already stretched to breaking point.
"Moving money around within general practice won't conjure up the extra appointments patients desperately need. Too many people still can't get through to their GP at all, and frail older people are languishing in hospital beds because the care they need to go home simply isn't there.
"To tackle the A&E crisis this winter, we need a plan to fix social care and give everyone the right to see a GP within seven days. Without that, patients will once again be left waiting on trolleys in hospital corridors."
