More GP services for north west England (26 June)

Ashton Leigh and Wigan, Bolton, East Lancashire, Manchester and Trafford will be the next five areas to participate in the Fairness in Primary Care Procurement  programme which will help around 55,000 thousand patients get easier access to family doctors and sexual health clinics.

According to Health Minister Andy Burnham, the new services will be extra family practices, walk-in sexual health centres and family planning services. The contracts will run for an initial five years, with the potential to extend for longer.

Other areas are also set to join the programme in the coming months.

The programme aims to provide patients with better access to a family doctor and more choice of GP, including flexible opening hours and extended services such as minor surgery. All local residents will have the choice to access any new services.

All five areas involved in this next wave of the programme currently have significantly fewer GPs per person than the national average. New services being planned include:

  • Ashton Leigh and Wigan – extra general practices in Ashton, Makerfield and Golborne, Atherton and Tyldesley, Ince and Platt Bridge, and Leigh and Higher Folds
  • Bolton – an extra general practice
  • Trafford – a walk-in sexual health and family planning service
  • East Lancashire – an extra general practice in Accrington
  • Manchester –an extra general practice in Charlestown.

The Department of Health-led procurement will provide the local NHS with access to resources and expertise. The DH will centrally manage the procurement process for PCTs.  PCTs will own, manage and sign-off their local contracts.

The programme aims to attract a broad range of providers, from existing entrepreneurial GPs to social enterprises and corporate independent providers.

Advertisements will appear in both the national and local media from the end of June to help ensure that the full range of potential providers are aware of the programme, including local GPs.

New services are expected to open to patients by spring 2008.