Commenting on the government’s 10 Year Health Plan to bring the NHS closer to home, Andy Pow, adviser to the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, said: “General practice has long been a Neighbourhood Health Service, so any move to support the shift of services away from hospitals to the community is welcomed.
He added: “For the plan to be successful it will need to be funded adequately. Investment will be required to develop new and existing premises and to employ staff in the community. It remains unclear how this funding challenge will be met.”
“It is essential, however, that the 10 Year Plan underpins general practice so that it does not have to compete with neighbourhood services for funding.”
How the new Neighbourhood Health Service will interact with general practice will also need to be established, said Mr Pow. “Who will run the new contracts envisaged by the government? Who will be the employer and what will the legal structure be? These are important considerations which must be thought through carefully to avoid the pension access and taxation issues which arose when primary care networks were formed.”