“Reallocated” {pound}40m for winter support will further strain GP budgets, doctors warn

AI Summary

The UK government plans to redirect £40 million from general-practice budgets to fund extra winter support for vulnerable patients, including health checks, home assessments, and medication reviews. Doctors' representatives warn the reallocation will further strain GP practices, while officials say the program could support up to 300,000 patients and help reduce hospital admissions.

UK government plans to reallocate £40m from GP budgets to provide vulnerable patients with extra support this winter is another blow to struggling practices, the BMA has warned.Unveiled by the prime minister, Andy Burnham, the funds will enable general practices to “proactively identify” and provide additional care for “the frailest patients,” said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).Additional interventions such as health checks, home assessments, and medicine reviews will help prevent serious illness and reduce avoidable hospital admissions, easing pressure on overstretched emergency departments, the government added.The DHSC said that funds would be made available to primary care networks, which can receive £126 for each eligible patient supported. The government claimed that under the plans as many as 300 000 patients with conditions such as heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease could be supported this winter.In comments this morning the health minister, Karin Smyth, said that the...