The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has secured a three-year contract from NHS England to continue delivering its Practice Level Support programme to general practices in the North West, South West and Midlands.
The programme provides practical operational improvement support to help practices with care navigation, workflow efficiency, demand and capacity management, and patient access, in line with the aims of the Modern General Practice model.
The RCGP has delivered the programme since 2024, supporting 255 practices through weekly on-site visits.
It aims to help surgeries adopt the Modern General Practice approach, which focuses on organising operational processes so practices can manage demand more effectively, make better use of available capacity and build a culture of continuous improvement.
Delivered over four to six months, the improvement package includes weekly on-site visits from a dedicated adviser, who provides facilitation expertise and tailored analysis of practice demand and capacity.
Practices also take part in remote group-based learning sessions, giving teams opportunities to learn from peers and share experiences.
Individual practices have reported tangible results, including 25% increase in face-to-face appointments within six months, a doubling of self-referrals in five months for improved patient navigation, reducing staff workload and preventing GP burnout.
RCGP president Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown said she was ‘delighted’ that the programme would continue.
‘As we shift towards more care being delivered in the community, and we begin to understand more about working within ‘neighbourhoods’, easy access to this kind of practical support will be key to helping general practice teams continue to provide safe, timely and high-quality care for patients,’ she said.
Feedback from practices that have been through Practice Level Support revealed that 89% felt better equipped to deal with challenges in the areas worked on with an RCGP facilitator. Nearly all (97%) rated the impact of the programme as ‘very positive’ or ‘positive’ on their practice and the same number would recommend it to other practices.
