FAILURES OF GP SUPPORT MUST BE ADDRESSED

URGENT action is needed to address continued failures in GP support services.

GP leaders have called on NHS England to urgently address continued failures with the delivery of vital support services to GPs by Capita.

Capita took over responsibility for Primary Care Support England (PCSE) in 2015 after the contract to run its services was outsourced by the government.

PCSE has oversight over a wide range of ‘back office’ functions for England’s 7,600 GP practices, including the transfer of medical records, the ordering of medical supplies and the payment process for GP trainees.

In a new letter to the chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, the BMA raised concerns over several continued failures that are undermining patient care. These include:

Shortcomings in the payroll system which has seen some GP trainees not paid on time and forced GP practices to rely on patient care budgets to pay staff.

Significant delays in registration and removals of patients which has affected both practice funding, a portion of which is allocated based on patient list size, and front-line care with patients facing delays in treatment.

Administrative delays removing violent patients from GP practice lists despite the practice following the correct procedure.

Concerns that new systems for cervical screening programmes, due to go live in July, are inadequate and unlikely to allow the service to be delivered effectively.

PCSE services remain far below the standards the public should expect. Despite some improvement after sustained pressure from the BMA, unacceptable problems persist in the processing of salaries for GP trainees which have resulted in some doctors not being paid on time.

This is not only distressing for the individual involved, but it often forces GP Practices to dip into overstretched budgets meant for patient care in order to pay their staff.

There are also worrying doubts about whether the new cervical screening service can be effectively delivered.

Patient care and safety continues to be damaged by delays in keeping patient lists up to date.

This combination of flaws is placing further strain on overstretched GP practices which should be focused on providing care to patients.

We need NHS England to step in and make sure back office functions provide the support that GPs need to deliver effective, high quality care to the public.