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Focus on community hospital GPs

GPC guidance for LMCs and GPs
Revised October 2007

Background
This GPC guidance note was originally issued in July 2005. Since its publication the Department of Health has suggested a new direction for community hospitals as outlined in the White Paper ‘Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services’ published in January 2006. The White Paper can be accessed online at the following address:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4127453

In Scotland, the ‘Delivering for Health’ document published by the Scottish Executive in 2005, set out a similar programme of action for the NHS in Scotland:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/02102635/26389

On-going discussions within the BMA have also led to changes to GPC policy and strategy on the future development of community services. The main part of the original guidance note remains relevant and where necessary, changes have been made to reflect developments in government and GPC policy on community hospitals. It should be read in conjunction with the GPC discussion document ‘Developing community hospitals and services for the future’, which can be found online.

This guidance:

• recognises the problems facing GPs working in community hospitals;
• sets out the measures that the GPC has taken in order to remedy the situation, including our evidence to the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) and the negotiated agreement between GPC Wales and Powys Local Health Board (LHB) in 2004 [1]
• details the DDRB pay award for 2006-2007;
• provides advice as to what action GPs and LMCs could be taking locally, including conducting local negotiations and offers a model service level agreement (SLA) with different pricing arrangements.

[1] The Powys agreement is uplifted by the same amount/percentage as the annual pay award made to Consultant grade staff in Wales.