A £40 million program funded by money reallocated from existing GP budgets is expected to provide extra winter care for 300,000 patients in England, The Guardian reported Nov. 8.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the plan targets people with frailty, heart disease and chronic lung conditions, including emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Guardian reported that the effort aims to prevent avoidable hospital stays and ease winter pressure on the National Health Service.
Planned care would include general health checks and reviews of patients’ medicines, as well as tests for respiratory problems, the newspaper reported. Groups of GP practices can draw on £126 for each qualifying patient. The Guardian said individual practices will choose recipients based on their assessment of who faces the greatest risk of serious illness over winter.
Prof. Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, welcomed the preventive approach. She said complex patient needs require support beyond a short-term initiative and called for dependable, ongoing funding for general practice.
