A scheme to support head doctors to provide care and advice to patients who prevent them from joining long waiting lists at the NHS Hospital is expanding in England, says the government.
GPS will work more closely with specialists to access expert advice quickly for patients with conditions such as irritable intestine syndrome, menopause symptoms and ear infections.
Backed for £ 80 million, their ambition is to help two million people to receive faster and more convenient attention in their local community at the end of 2025/26.
The Minister of Health, Karen Smyth, said the scheme “saves time and stops the masses of people who have to hospitals for unnecessary quotes.”
The expanded scheme is part of the government plan to reduce long NHS waiting lists and create additional appointments for patients.
It has pledged that 92% of NHS patients will be waiting for less than 18 weeks to receive treatment after a consultant, at the end of this Parliament.
Between July and December 2024, the scheme diverted 660,000 hospitals treatments and in the community, says the government.
Called ‘advice and guidance’, the scheme links GPS and hospital specialists before patients are referred to waiting lists, so that tests and treatments can be offered in the most convenient place.
For example, patients with tinnitus and the elimination of wax from the girlfriend that they end up being sent to specialists when they could receive help outside hospitals. And women who need advice on TRH types could be treated in local centers, instead of waiting to see a gynecologist.
GP practices can claim every time the scheme changes hospital attention to the community.
Health Minister Karin Smyth said the government was “wiring the NHS again” and doing things differently.
“This scheme is a perfect example of how we are saving patients and reducing pressure on the key services of NHS in the process,” he said.
“It will take time to reverse the harmful negligence suffered by the NHS in recent years, but our change plan is to start delivering benefits for patients, with waiting lists cut in 219,000 since July, and 1,500 new headers of header in the position.”
National Voices, which represent the lack of health in England, said that the “real option” should be offered to patients about which are the best treatment routes.
“We must see a solid communication about what the service is and what it means in practical terms for patient care,” said Policy Sharon Brennan.
The British Medical Association said in a statement: “We have seen decades of underestimation in general practice, and this is a small important step to recognize the important role of the head doctor and support practices to provide improved care to patients in the community.
“The trip to bring back the family doctor has just begun. Now we must focus on the promise of the Secretary of State to complete the negotiation of a new GP contract within the period of this Parliament to safeguard the family’s closure of the family, and we seek to work and seek to work and observe and see. Achieve that.”
