The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has announced investment of £26.76m in GP services over the coming year, including improvements to the estate.
The 2019/20 funding includes up to £18.17m for the continuation and acceleration of transformation projects commenced in 2018/19, including up to £11.1m to support the ongoing rollout of multi-disciplinary teams; £3.5m for a range of elective care services delivered through general practice; and investment of £1.1m in Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
A further £2.19m will be available to support the rollout of the next stage of the Practice Based Pharmacist scheme, bringing the total recurrent investment to nearly £13.19m.
These significant investments reflect the crucial role general practice has in delivering health and social care to meet the needs of patients, now and into the future
And, up to £3.9m will be available for investment in GP premises, with a focus on supporting the delivery of multi-disciplinary team working and the expansion of training.
Announcing the cash, the department’s Permanent Secretary, Richard Pengelly, said: “This further investment builds on the £37.7m of additional funding invested in GP and related services over the last two years.
“These significant investments reflect the crucial role general practice has in delivering health and social care to meet the needs of patients, now and into the future.”
Dr Alan Stout, chairman of the General Practitioners Committee in Northern Ireland, added: “This funding announcement is good news for GPs, for primary care, and for patients across Northern Ireland.
This increased investment will mean that more GP practices will be able to begin the process of transforming the way they deliver services
“The transformation money that has already been invested is beginning to make a difference for GPs, helping to ease their workload and allowing frontline services to patients to be met by a broader range of health professionals who are best suited to addressing a patient’s needs.
“This increased investment will mean that more GP practices will be able to begin the process of transforming the way they deliver services.”
