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Northern Ireland announces £3m enhanced service for GP practices this winter

Northern Ireland announces £3m enhanced service for GP practices this winter

The Northern Irish health minister has introduced a new £3 million enhanced service, which will focus on managing demand around bank holidays as a part of the country’s winter preparation plan. 

Practices participating in the enhanced service will stay open at lunchtime and refrain from having any half-day closures for the working week after bank holidays.  

The winter resilience plan also involves the £5.5m support package announced in September

Robin Swann, NI health minister, said in a statement today: ‘As part of winter planning, I have put in place a Northern Ireland Local Enhanced Service, making £3m of funding of available to GP practices. 

‘This will allow practices to put plans in place to manage increases in demand and provide additional clinical patient care to help with winter pressures.

‘This initiative has a particular focus on managing demand after bank holidays, with participating practices undertaking to remain open at lunchtime and to have no half day closures for the working week after bank holidays.’ 

Mr Swann warned that health and social care will continue to face extreme stress and pressure this winter.  

He said: ‘The pressures are likely to worsen with Covid-19 cases expected to rise, alongside increased levels of flu and other respiratory infections.

‘General practice will play a crucial role in helping to manage additional service demand and keep people safe this winter in the communities they serve.’ 

‘General practice will also continue to play a central role in the delivery of the Covid booster and Flu vaccination programmes,’ he added. 

Dr Tom Black, the BMA’s NI Council Chair, said that even though the additional funding is welcome, the plan ‘simply firefights’ pressures the workforce has felt for months, exacerbated by the lack of an executive in the Northern Ireland government.  

‘Our stagnant politics have led to a stagnant health service reform agenda, with countless reviews and subsequent plans stalled or shelved entirely. We are now simply reacting to mounting and dangerous pressures.

‘We need an executive now. We need a proper multiyear budget now. Above all else, we need proper public accountability now. Under no circumstances can our overworked health service doctors and staff be held accountable for the harm we know will arise this winter.’ 

The plan includes a range of actions across secondary and social care, as well as workforce, vaccination programmes, Covid-19 testing and treatment. Mr Swann said a key priority is maximising hospital and community bed availability. 

It will provide funding support of £30m allocation to trusts to mitigate financial pressures as well as a £5.3m funding package for community pharmacy.

Earlier in October, two Northern Irish GP practices handed back their contracts, after workload and workforce pressures became unsustainable. 

Previously, Pulse reported that the lack of a government and budget for Northern Ireland could lead to an exodus of GPs and other doctors who are not getting their promised pay uplift.