GP Partnership Review

If you would like to provide feedback to the GP Partnership Review please send us your thoughts before 30 August: info@lmc.org.uk.

On 30 July 2018 Dr Nigel Watson and his GP Partnership Review team visited our offices in Euston and two GP practices. Dr Watson, who is also Chair of Wessex LMCs and a member of the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC), will gather his findings and submit them to Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, at the end of the year.

The GP Partnership Review is an initiative designed to identify the challenges facing GP partnerships and look at ways of making them more attractive to join and/or remain in. To obtain this information Dr Watson and his review team have been gathering their research from GP practices and will make recommendations where the partnership offer could be changed to increase participation. Key areas identified so far include: the challenges currently facing partnerships and how to reinvigorate the partnership model in a way that is beneficial for patients, practice and GPs.

At our offices the review team provided a 20-minute presentation discussing the partnership model and his ideas so far to our attendees which consisted of practice nurses, sessional GPs, partner GPs, practice managers and others. After the presentation there was the opportunity for small groups to participate in discussions and present their thoughts of the review to the review team. The common themes coming from the groups were: the importance of maintaining joy in the workplace, ensuring good patient experience and encouraging younger GPs to join partnerships for the long-term.

After his visit to our offices, the review team were accompanied by a Londonwide LMCs representative to two other practices in London: Churchill Medical Centre, Waltham Forest and Brooke Green Medical Centre, Hammersmith and Fulham, to discuss the GP Partnership Review further. During these visits numerous topics were discussed and a variety of opinions were exchanged amongst the groups. Health professionals from various ages, socio-economic backgrounds and at different stages in their careers offered their viewpoint about partnership.

It was broadly agreed amongst the GP trainees that partnership should provide career opportunities for them and they would be interested in a route into partnership with a more gradual progression than simply switching from salaried or locum roles. Conversely, long-term GP partners stated that partnership could be improved by creating protected, funded time for business management activity and/or their practice’s participation in local transformation work.

We are looking forward to seeing how the GP Partnership Review develops and will be interested to see what models are proposed at the end of it. It is important that the conversation around the future of the independent contractor model hears from as many frontline GPs and practice staff as possible, to gain the fullest possible understanding of the subject.

Thank you to all those who attended the review meeting at our offices, and to the staff of the Churchill Medical Centre and Brooke Green Medical Centre.

We will continue to update you via our newsletter as and when we receive further information on the GP Partnership Review.

Last updated : 21 Sep 2018

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