The petition of residents of the constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale,
Declares that the Central Lakes Medical Practice should be saved and protected for the long term; further declares that that both Ambleside and Hawkshead surgeries should not close, should not be run by a private, for profit company and should instead be run by local doctors; furthermore, asks that the new practices should guarantee continuity of care so that patients are able to see the same doctor for the majority of their visits and further that, call for fair funding of the new practice, as medical care in rural communities is more expensive to provide.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Integrated Care Board to adhere to these terms when procuring a contract for the surgeries.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Tim Farron, Official Report, 21 November 2022; Vol. 723, c. 126.]
[P002782]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Neil O’Brien):
NHS England has confirmed that the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) has put in place a local caretaking provider from 1 January 2023. These practices are not at risk of closure, and the outcome of the procurement for a longer-term provider is due to be published shortly. NHS England is accountable for ensuring that all patients have access to a GP practice.
NHS England has confirmed that an open and competitive procurement process has been used. In line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) Regulations 2013, all eligible bidders were able to bid for this contract and assessment criteria of bids focused upon quality of care and not bidders' organisational structure. NHS England has also confirmed that the procurement process has required all bidders to demonstrate their planned workforce model.
The Government recognise the importance of continuity of care as well as speed and convenience of access. That is why all patients must be assigned a named GP, and practices must endeavour to comply with all reasonable requests of patients to see a particular GP for an appointment. Other professionals in general practice teams can also play an important role in providing continuity of care for patients.
The Government wants everyone to be able to access a primary care professional when they need to, including in rural areas. The global sum allocation formula which underpins capitation payments to general practices is designed to ensure that resources are directed to practices based on an estimate of their patient workload and unavoidable practice costs such as rurality.
The Government recognise there are issues with recruitment and retention in certain areas of the country, including some rural locations. NHS England launched the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in 2016, which has attracted hundreds of doctors to train in hard to recruit locations, including many rural areas, by providing a one-off financial incentive of £20,000. 500 places were available in 2021 and through additional Government investment, there were 800 places in 2022.