The NHS Confederation have increased their support and representation of primary care providers by launching a new national network for GP Federations.
This will allow the chairs, chief executives, chief operating officers, and other senior managers of federations to sign up to access and receive a range of benefits from the Confederation, which already represents NHS trusts, integrated care systems, CCGs and PCNs across England. It will also include tailored member products such as bulletins, briefings and events, as well as opportunities to influence and inform national guidance and forthcoming legislation.
One of the early priorities of the new network will be to ensure primary care continues to be supported in the ongoing pandemic, and that the role of federations is reflected in the development of future primary care strategy. This includes the potential for federations to support recovery across primary and secondary care.
Danny Mortimer, Chief Executive of the Confederation, said: “The response to the pandemic has reinforced the benefits of system working and collaboration in every part of health and social care.
“Given our role representing every part of the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland I am delighted that the NHS Confederation now further broadens its membership to represent GP federations alongside primary care networks, integrated care systems, NHS trusts, mental health providers, and clinical commissioners.”
Ruth Rankine, Director of primary care at the Confederation, said: “GP federations have played a vital role in bringing individual practices and PCNs together during the pandemic, with the mass vaccination programme in particular demonstrating what primary care can achieve when it works at scale for its patients.
“Our Primary Care Federation Network will be the voice for federations in England, ensuring that they are appropriately represented and actively involved in shaping future healthcare strategy. It will complement our established offer for PCNs, recognising their interdependencies and opportunities for collaboration, as well as their unique positions in the system.”
The Confederation have established an advisory board for its new network, with Fiona Adamson, Chief Executive of Hartlepool and Stockton Health appointed as the chair; and Dr Andy Hilton, GP and Chief Executive of Primary Care at Sheffield, as their vice-chair.
Fiona Adamson, Chair of the Confederation’s PCFN, said: “Federations are rooted in both general practice and the values of the NHS. Through this new network, we will drive forward a shared vision to provide more integrated, innovative and responsive care for patients, to reduce health inequalities and to improve the health of our local populations.”
Dr Andy Hilton, Vice Chair of the PCFN, said: “Federations have the potential to be a driving force behind local population health management, and are seen by many as the architype for delivering more primary care at scale yet they have never had a formal representative body until now.
“This is a golden opportunity for these leaders to come together through the NHS Confederation to assert the value of federations in healthcare planning and delivery, connect and learn from other parts of the system, and ensure their experiences are heard in shaping future policy.”
There are around 200 GP Federations in England. The size and scope of these vary significantly across the country, with from some federations making up around ten practices, covering patient populations of 200,000. Whilst others are comprised of as many as 85 practices supporting over 600,000 patients.
Their size makes them more efficient than practices working individually (for example when delivering certain back-office functions or staff training and education), and they provide patient services that can be commissioned at scale across multiple areas to suit local needs, reducing unnecessary duplication.
The size and management of GP Federations enables them to be engaged in leadership discussions across their local systems on behalf of their PCNs and practices, thereby representing primary care at an ICS level and supporting in the delivery of services at a range of scales.
