97% of population covered by GP consortia after DH announces fifth wave of pathfinder groups
MORE than 95% of England is now covered by GP pathfinder groups following the announcement by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, of the fifth wave of consortia.
A further 35 organisations have been named in the latest round, taking the total number of organisations across the country to 257 and covering almost 50 million people, or 97% of the total population.
Announcing the consortia, Lansley said: "GPs know their local population best and they should have the power to improve care for patients. The fact that 257 pathfinder groups now do this for around 97% of the population is not only great news for patients, but for the entire NHS, as frontline clinicians step forward to modernise services."
The groups will now work with patients, NHS colleagues and local authorities to take over the management of health budgets from outgoing primary care trusts, and design services better suited to patients in the future. The pathfinders will also become part of the national Pathfinder Learning Network and will be supported by the National Clinical Commissioning Network, the National Leadership Council and primary care bodies.
The groups include GP Healthcare MK, which is made up of clinicians from practices in Milton Keynes. Dr Nicola Smith, of Parkside Medical Centre in Bletchely, said she and her colleagues were looking forward to taking on the new responsibility for commissioning services. She added: "We welcome this as recognition of our progress to date. The group is already supporting the adoption of best practice and has established a system for engaging practices in quality improvement. Member practices are really getting involved with looking at their ways of working."
Lansley said that where clinical commissioning groups - the new term for GP consortia - have already been formed, patients are beginning to see the benefits of services more tailored to their needs. In Medway, for example, the NHS has set up a successful primary eye acute referral service (PEARS) and an outreach dermatology service. These have already improved the patient experience through moving care out of the acute hospital setting and into the community. While, in southern Derbyshire, local GPs have had an input into the development of a new community hospital, demonstrating strong clinical leadership to improve patient care.
The full list of consortia from the fifth wave of pathfinders is as follows:
- East of England
- Arterial Community Interest Group
- Castle Point GP Consortium
- Peterborough GP Primary Care Commissioning
- The Multi-Consortium Commissioning Group
- West Suffolk Commissioning Federation
- EAST MIDLANDS:
- GP Healthcare MK
- South Derbyshire Commissioning Consortium
- LONDON
- Greenwich Health
- NORTH EAST:
- Engage - North Tyneside
- North Tees
- South Tyneside
- Sunderland
- Tyne Health - Newcastle
- NORTH WEST
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Bolton Collaborative Consortium
- Burnley
- Bury GPCC
- Chorley and South Ribble
- Hyndburn
- Kirkby
- Middleton and Heywood Healthcare LLP
- Ribblesdale GP Consortium
- Rochdale West LLP
- Rossendale
- Southport and Formby PBC Consortium
- West Lancashire
- SOUTH CENTRAL:
- North East Hampshire
- SOUTH EAST COAST
- Ashford
- Farnham
- Medway
- WEST MIDLANDS
- Pioneers for Health and Smartcare
- Redditch and Bromsgrove
- Sandwell Health Alliance
- Stoke-on-Trent GP Commissioning Consortium
- Wolverhampton City Consortium and Primary Care Consortium