Revolution in health care commissioning.
More than 200 surgeries in the region have now signed up to be part of the GP consortia health revolution. Doctors have been described as showing "enthusiasm" and "ambition" for the NHS overhaul, which will see them placed at the heart of funding treatments and services for patients. Moira Dumma, the newly appointed regional director of commissioning development, said that 217 GP practices - a third of all surgeries in the West Midlands - had agreed to become part of a consortium. By April, all GPs will need to have signed up to the new system to start working on the changes and ensure that every patient in the region will be covered. There are expected to be about 30 consortia, or groups of GPs who work together. They will replace primary care trusts in 2013. "The initial enthusiasm is being maintained and considerable progress has been made in developing the GP consortia," said Miss Dumma. "The consortia are at an early stage of deciding which functions they will provide, share or buy. "There is a need to understand what the business processes will be in the new system. The GP consortia pathfinders will need to begin building the right working links with councils from the outset. "In the past, the relationship between local authorities and the health service has predominantly taken place within primary care trusts, so GPs have some work to do in building relationships." Miss Dumma added: "This is about a completely different way of working. Progress will be about changing the system to address future needs. There is a huge amount of enthusiasm for moving this forward." Health executives expect many consortia to end up merging with neighbouring ones in a bid to make budgets go further. |