Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving to a model of salaried GPs.

The General Practice Partnership Review (June 2019) considered the merits of the current partnership model. Most GP practices are operated by a partnership of two or more GPs, who are contracted to the NHS to provide primary care services. The GP partners are responsible for employing other staff to provide services, such as salaried GPs. GP partnerships, individually and through new Primary Care Networks, deliver high quality care to patients all over the country and are well-placed to meet the needs of local communities.

We recognise some GPs are less interested in going into partnership. The partnership model is not the only model currently delivering general practice. GP practices can and do choose to organise themselves in different ways, with differing proportions of partners and salaried doctors. Nationally, as of 30 September 2021, 35% of all fully qualified doctors in general practice (Full Time Equivalent) are salaried.

While partnerships holding a GP contract continue to be in the majority, it is important that sustainable alternative models are available where the difficulties of recruitment and retention may mean that a partnership model cannot thrive. In February 2021 NHS England and NHS Improvement updated guidance on alternative organisational forms, including a toolkit and key considerations, to make it easier for GP practices and commissioners to decide if a different approach is right for them.