This site is intended for health professionals only


97% of practices to do unplanned admissions DES in south

Close to all GP practices have signed up to do the new avoiding unplanned admissions DES in the south of England, far exceeding the take-up of 89% in the north of England.

In total, 97% of practices have signed up, and this could still rise somewhat in Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire, where the NHS England area team was still uncertain whether seven practices would do the DES or not.

This comes after the London area team reported a 93% take up last week, a higher rate than the 89% take up in the north, Midlands and east.

But Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire saw the highest take up in all of the country, with just one practice each refusing the DES, leaving their overall take-up very close to 100%. In Wessex, only two practices declined.

However, the total take up as provided by NHS England to date as of 4 August remained at 90%. Hertfordshire and the south Midlands practices were least keen on the DES out of those areas presenting final figures, as only two-thirds will do the DES.

The DES is worth £20,400 to the average practice, the money sourced by scrapping 40% of the QOF for this year’s GP contract, but today Pulse could reveal only those practices ticking all of the boxes of the stringent terms will be paid.

Area team

Signed up

Total practices

% signed up

North Yorkshire 230 233 98.7
South Yorkshire 194 215 90.2
West Yorkshire 310 328 94.5
Cheshire, Warrington & Wirral 159 170 93.5
Merseyside 193 238 81.1
Greater Manchester 484 499 97.0
Lancashire 225 231 97.4
Cumbria, Northumbria, Tyne & Wear 260 304 85.5
Durham, Darlington & Tees 154 172 89.5
Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country 381 476 80.0
Shropshire and Staffordshire 208 243 85.6
Derybshire and Nottinghamshire 263 273 96.3
Leicestershire and Lincolnshire 226 248 91.1
East Anglia 242 292 82.9
Essex 262 274 95.6
Hertfordshire and the South Midlands 240 317 75.7
North West London 376 407 92.4
North Central and East London  526 569 92.4
South London 437 459 95.2
Arden, Herefordshire and Worcestershire* 87 234 37.2*
Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire 191 192 99.5
Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 228 229 99.6
Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire* 170 182 93.4*
Surrey and Sussex 311 342 90.9
Kent and Medway 252 260 96.9
Thames Valley 242 244 99.2
Wessex 313 315 99.4

Total**

7164

7946

90.2

**Take up as at 4 August 2014      
*not final figures      
Source: NHS England