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General Practitioners

Volume 479: debated on Monday 21 July 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department makes available to general practitioner practices to support a transition to practice-based commissioning. (218355)

The Department provides a national framework for practice-based commissioning which sets clear expectations of PCTs to provide a range of support necessary to allow practices to engage fully with practice-based commissioning. The “Practice Based Commissioning: Practical Implementation” guidance document published in November 2006 describes the nature of support that PCTs should provide to practice-based commissioners, such as budgetary, analytical and management support. The precise level of support necessary will vary from practice to practice.

The “NHS Next Stage Review: Our vision for Primary and Community Care” strategy has also set out how practice based commissioning is central to our ambitions for health improvement and high quality care. The document outlines the Department’s intention to work with the NHS and with the professions to reinvigorate the implementation of practice based commissioning, and set out a package of measures to support this.