GP consortia are to receive an allowance of up to £35 per head of population for running costs, the new NHS operating framework reveals.
The framework for 2011/12, published yesterday, states: ‘The expectation is that GP consortia will have an allowance for running costs that could be in the range of £25 to £35 per head of population by 2014/15. We will not determine the exact amount until further work has been undertaken with pathfinders.
The NAPC welcomed the operating framework's plans to reform the NHS with £89 billion of funding for frontline services. Chief executive, Mike Ramsden, said: ‘The resources made available will enable GP commissioning consortia to begin to tackle some of the urgent issues vexing ministers, including the unwarranted variability in primary care.'
The same document also announces a GP consortia development fund for PCTs of £2 per head, in addition to existing funding for PBC, that can be used ‘flexibly' to fund items such as clinical backfill, training and organisational development.
A number of new outpatient attendance tariffs will be developed next year and a ‘five-day trim point floor' applied to long hospital stays to avoid short stays attracting a long stay payment. Hospitals will also not be reimbursed for emergency readmissions within 30 days of discharge following an elective admission.
The Government's response to the white paper consultation was also published yesterday and announced GPs will take on commissioning responsibility for maternity services.
Mike Ramsden
