GPs in the PCT have commissioned 34 projects, including end-of-life care, care homes, community intravenous therapy and planned care projects, and have delivered £12.6m in savings since 2007.
Dr Darin Seiger, chair of Nene Commissioning and a GP in Northampton
On progress so far…
‘We've delivered over two dozen projects, including home management for people at high risk of emergency admission and community services for back pain, glaucoma and people at the end of their lives. We've also run a peer-review scheme to improve referrals.'
On local GPs' response to the white paper…
‘We're talking to all practices in Nene about whether they want to stay part of a countywide consortium and whether we have a mandate to start developing that right now. We are also talking to practices about principles to design the new consortium (clinically led, bottom up, maximum autonomy, minimised risk).'
And his advice for prospective GP commissioners…
‘Mitigate the risks by forming consortia that are large enough (500,000 plus patients) to cope with yearly variations in costs.'
Dr Darin Seiger: discussing whether to consortium now Dr Darin Seiger: discussing whether to consortium now
