Delivery of Structured Medication Reviews will now be determined and limited by the clinical pharmacist capacity of the Primary Care Network (PCN), according to the revised service specifications agreed in the new GP contract.
The revised PCN service specification for enhanced health in care homes has replaced the proposed requirement of fortnightly face-to-face medical input to the care homes with a requirement for medical input to be ‘appropriate and consistent’ but with the frequency and form of this medical input to be based on local clinical judgement by the PCN.
The 2020-21 contract, published last week, commits an additional £1.5 billion in total for GP surgeries over the next four years, allowing them to recruit more pharmacists, physiotherapists and other health professionals.
“I want the NHS to be there for everyone when they need it, and to take pressure off hospitals by expanding primary care,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The changes to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) also offers a 100 per cent reimbursement from NHS England for the pharmacy technician roles, increasing the total number of PCN staff with full reimbursement to 26,000. The reimbursement will be applicable for the new PCN appointments from April this year.
The anticipatory care, personalised care and supporting early cancer diagnosis specifications will only be part of the 2021 GP negotiations.
Sir Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive, said: This agreement funds a major increase in general practice staff – including GPs, therapists and pharmacists – so that patients can get quicker appointments with a wide range of skilled health professionals at their local doctors’ surgery.
These extra staff will in turn be offering expanded services, including regular health checks for people living in care homes, action to boost vaccination uptake, earlier cancer detection, and better support for people with learning disabilities.
