GP practice teams in England will be expected to meet a target of seeing 90% of clinically urgent patients on the same day by March 2027, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said.
The goal has been confirmed under measures to improve access to general practice that form part of the wider move to the neighbourhood health model – details of which have been published in a DHSC and NHS England paper this week.
Although same-day access for clinically urgent cases has been made mandated under the GP contract for 2026/27 no timelines were confirmed.
Now the new Neighbourhood health framework has confirmed the 90% target must be met by the end of the next financial year.
The framework outlines the main steps to delivering the reforms first announced under the 10-year health plan that aim to bring together GP services with a mix of community, local authority and other services and strengthen joined up care.
Co-produced by leaders in primary care, mental health, community and acute providers, ICBs and local government the policy document provides details about the new neighbourhood provider contracts, delivery of neighbourhood health, and how success of the model will be measured.
This includes three core objectives and metrics around improving access to general practice (see box below) that will have to be actioned in 2026/27.
The framework has also confirmed that NHS trusts will have commissioning responsibilities for primary care as they will be eligible to hold newly developed integrated health organisation (IHO) contracts that give providers ‘a whole population health budget for a geographically defined population’.
Initially, trusts able to hold an IHO contract will be ‘high-performing and highly capable advanced foundation trusts’, the document said.
NHS England will work with the first wave of contract holders ‘to test the model’ and look how it can be rolled out more widely.
‘In all primary care contract types, General Medical Services (or PMS or APMS), General Dental Services (or Personal Dental Services), community pharmaceutical services and General Ophthalmic Services contracts will continue to be commissioned in accordance with national contracts, with the ICB delegating commissioning responsibilities to the IHO, if an IHO is agreed and constituted,’ the framework said.
Meanwhile, the Government will also consult on how multi-neighbourhood providers (MNP) and single neighbourhood providers (SNPs), announced in the 10 year health plan, will work with GMS and the PCN contract as well as how PCNs might evolve into SNPs.
‘Between MNPs and SNPs, it will be up to ICBs to decide in their commissioning how to organise these arrangements based on what’s right for their local population, although we would expect an appropriate level of coterminous arrangement’ the document says.
Many systems will have arrangements where IHOs are not constituted, for example, it added.
In addition, while it is assumed an MNP contract would work well for a population of around 250,000 or more and an SNP contract for arund 50,000, the DHSC said it will not ‘mandate’ the size of neighbourhood health geographies.
Other key points include:
- Single neighbourhood providers to enable primary care to take on new neighbourhood services that are not contracted for through current general practice contracts, (GMS,PMS and APMS) which will continue to be determined nationally and commissioned locally.
- NHS England to consult on how collaboration between and SNP contract holders and individual GP practices will work.
- Consultation also to be held on how multi-neighbourhood providers collaborate with SNPs and practices.
- NHS England to work with ICBs to reform GP out-of-hours services, setting a common minimum expectation across all systems, including the relationship to 111.
Care minister, Stephen Kinnock, said the framework would fix ‘regulations and roadblocks’ put in the way of staff ‘working tirelessly to change the way the health and care system works to make it better for communities’.
He added: ‘Neighbourhood health will only work as a joint endeavour between the NHS and local authorities, alongside wider partners.’
Improving access to general practice objectives and metrics
There are three core objectives and corresponding metrics for this goal, which forms part of the move to neighbourhood health. The Government said it will:
- Ensure that clinically urgent patients are seen on the same day by their GP practice team, with the aim of 90% of clinically urgent patients being seen on the same day by March 2027.
- Make sure there is faster access for routine GP care. During the 2026 to 2027 financial year, it will collect data to baseline and set future trajectories. In the interim, ICBs may set local goals in agreement with contractors.
- Improve patient satisfaction with GP access. During the 2026/27 financial year, it will collect data to baseline and set future trajectories. In the interim, ICBs may set local goals in agreement with contractors.
Source: DHSC and NHS England
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