GPs and practice managers in Sheffield have saved more than £823,000 over the past year, according to new figures.
The Central Sheffield GP Consortium, which consists of 27 practices, said its members made the savings through effective referral management and prescribing more cost-effective, evidence-based medication. The consortium will now retain the saved money and invest it in patient care.
Michelle Wilde, a practice manager, said: “We’ve been working alongside relevant stakeholders such as nurses, pharmacists and GPs to come up with solutions and ideas that can help improve prescribing across the consortium.
“In turn, we’ve managed to save thousands of pounds, providing the consortium with a huge boost that will allow us to fund more innovative schemes across a variety of areas including mental health, diabetes, obstetrics and outpatient referral management.”
A prescribing team has now been set up by the consortium, made up of Michelle Wilde; Dr Richard Hill of Woodseats Practice, GP prescribing lead; and Bhavana Reddy, pharmacist prescribing support for the consortium.
The team aims to develop ideas to be used within primary care and will conduct frequent educational events for clinical prescribers in the area.
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