GPs set to sign up to new network
GPs are set to get just under £1 per patient more as part of the 2019/20 global sum, according to NHS England. Details on the new five-year GP contract have just been released in a letter and it reveals an increase from £88.96 in 2018/2019 to £89.88 in 2019/2020 in the global sum price per weighted patient. That means each practice is set to benefit by an extra 92p per patient. The letter states that this year’s rise is smaller because there is a one-off payment being introduced in line with the new indemnity scheme.
A one-off adjustment to funding to cover the cost of the indemnity scheme is included in the global sum increase for the 2019/20 period. Chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council, Dr Richard Vautrey confirmed that practices will have an extra £2.68 per weighted patient in 2019/20, and that figure includes the £1.76 per weighted patient for signing up to the network contract DES that will begin in July this year.
Recently, British Medical Association leaders stated that the new contract deal will lead to a rise in practice funding by almost £1bn. That’s over a period of five years and it’s estimated there will be a further sum of £1.8bn which will go toward supporting the networks, which practices will be expected to join.
Pharmacy freezers safeguard medicines
There will be various funding avenues, with one covering the recruitment of a minimum of one social prescribing link worker, as well as a clinical pharmacist this year. Networks will also receive funding which will go towards administration costs and a designated lead GP post.
Freezers are widely used in GP practices. According to AccuWeather experts say that extreme temperatures can affect the efficacy of medication. It also states that unopened insulin is best refrigerated at temperatures between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The wide range of pharmacy freezers on the market provide extreme accuracy when measuring temperature. This means medicines and vaccines are safeguarded at all times. A comprehensive range is available from pharmacy freezers from Fridge Freezer Direct.
The good news is that with other increases to immunisation fees and the removal of indemnity expenses, practices will be eligible to put in place a 2% rise in practice staff pay.
