GP Winter Proactive Care Programme

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety (Dame Diana Johnson)]

On 9 November, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that £40 million of funding will be reinvested in general practice to help GPs proactively identify and support up to 300,000 vulnerable patients this winter. This ringfenced funding will help keep people well at home, prevent serious illness and reduce avoidable hospital admissions as we strengthen preparations for extra pressure on the NHS over winter.

Selected patients with conditions including heart disease, frailty or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will receive additional support from their GP tailored to their health needs, such as medication reviews, health checks and falls prevention support. This will help general practice play an even greater role in preparing the NHS for winter by keeping vulnerable patients well and helping prevent avoidable hospital admissions.

This programme comes alongside greater flexibility for practices to increase GP capacity as pressures rise. Since 1 October, practices can use GP reimbursement funding to bring in locum GPs, giving them greater freedom to respond to local demand and increase capacity during winter.

There are currently more than 2,800 additional GPs compared with July 2024, with more than 30,500 fully qualified full-time equivalent GPs working in general practice—the highest number in over a decade. Over 400 million appointments have been delivered over the past year, around 24 million more than in the equivalent period to July 2024. Almost half of patients now contact their GP digitally, helping make it easier to seek care throughout the day rather than facing the 8 am scramble.

We know this winter will present particular challenges for the NHS after the record levels of demand faced this summer. Preparations began in July, with a focus on strengthening urgent care and promoting vaccination.

Alongside the GP winter proactive care programme, we are investing £190 million announced at the Budget to help the NHS manage winter pressures and £140 million in new urgent care schemes. We are also working to boost flu vaccine uptake by expanding the number of pharmacies offering the vaccination and rolling out simpler digital booking tools.

There is more to do, but more GPs, more appointments and earlier support for vulnerable patients will help more people stay well at home while reducing avoidable pressure on the NHS this winter.

[HCWS463]