WIREDGOV

Patients will have the chance to choose the best GP practice for them under new plans in a consultation published today by Health Secretary Andy Burnham.

At present, GPs operate within fixed geographical boundaries that can be restrictive and severely reduce patients’ choice of the practice they register with, especially for those patients living in poorer areas.

The majority of patients are happy with their current GP practice but a significant minority would like to change their GP.

For many patients it is important to be registered with a local GP so their GP can visit them at home and help co-ordinate care with local health professionals. Others want to register with a practice closer to where they work, or one closer to home, open longer or offers more services. Other patients have said they’d like to be able to stay registered with their current practice when they move house.

The consultation is seeking views on a wide range of proposals, in particular around the issues involved in arranging home visits, co-ordination of community based services, safeguarding access for local residents, and access to hospital and specialist treatment.

On a visit to Wandsworth Medical Centre, Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham said:

“In the next 10 years, the most exciting changes in healthcare will take place in primary care, as more services move out of hospitals and into the community. This is better for patients as well as a more efficient way of delivering services.

"Giving people more choice of GP services will help drive up standards and improve quality. It is the right move at the right time. This policy will drive change, and allow for more responsive primary care for all.

“We know that to make this work some changes will be needed, for example how we organise home visits for those people who choose to register with a practice further away from where they live. That’s why we would like to hear from patients, GPs and practice staff with their views on how the new system should work and how we ensure patients have a wider and more meaningful choice of GP practice."

“We have already greatly improved access to GP services and most people are satisfied or very satisfied with their GP but in a great NHS, everybody should be able to choose the best care for themselves and their families. That means the freedom to choose their GPand not be faced with artificial restrictions, like practice boundaries, that limit their choice.”