Funding for personal medical services (PMS) contracts could be slashed over the next few years in attempt to make resourcing more fair and transparent”, NHS England has said.
Over the next two years, NHS England area teams will be reviewing PMS contracts to ensure that additional funding “meets a set of consistent principles and criteria”.
NHS England is aiming to reduce PMS contract funding from £13.52 per patient to £9.80 per patient.
Any additional funding must:
– Reflect local strategic plans for primary care agreed jointly with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).
– Secure services or outcomes that go beyond what is expected of core general practice or improve primary care premises.
– Help reduce health inequalities.
– Give equality of opportunity to all GP practices.
– Support fairer distribution of funding at a locality level.
Ben Dyson, director of commissioning policy and primary care at NHS England, said: “[We are] committed to supporting innovation and quality improvement in primary care and reducing health inequalities.
“We want to continue to use Personal Medical Services arrangements to achieve these objectives. At the same time, we need to ensure that there is an equitable approach to funding.
“Where GP practices are receiving extra funding per patient, this has to be fairly and transparently linked to the quality of care they provide for patients or the particular needs of the local population that they serve.
“The purpose of this review has been to put in place a much clearer framework that will enable our area teams to ensure that extra investment in Personal Medical Services meets these criteria.”
Nationally, a total of £325 million is spent on PMS contracts. But NHS England is aiming to reduce this to £235 million over the seven years to 2021/22.
NHS England is aiming to reduce this to £9.80 per patients.
PMS is a locally-agreed alternative to general medical service (GMS) for general practice providers.
More information on the arrangements are available on the NHS England website.
