General practice services: research project

There are about 8,100 general practices operating under NHS contracts in England and more than 40,000 doctors working in them, in addition to nurses and other health professionals.

General practitioners (GPs) treat patients and also have an important role in referring patients who need more specialist care and helping people to make informed choices about their healthcare.

Scope of the review

This call for evidence is aimed at better understanding the challenges faced by the GP services sector at a time when it is operating under increased pressure. Monitor is looking in particular for information about aspects of the provision and commissioning of general practice services that may not be working in the best interests of patients.

Patients (and groups that represent their interests), current and potential providers of general practice services, providers of secondary care, commissioners of general practice services, government, regulatory organisations, local authorities, professional and representative bodies and any other interested parties are all asked to submit evidence.

Timetable of the review Monitor issues call for evidence 1 July 2013 Deadline for responses to call for evidence 30 September 2013 Discussion document and next steps published 7 February 2014 Further research 7 February - December 2014 Phone interviews with providers of GP services and patient surveys October - December 2014 Current activities

Responses to Monitor’s call for evidence on the general practice services sector in England.

Monitor is currently undertaking research into GP services following the call for evidence and the subsequent discussion document published in February 2014. As part of this work, Monitor is engaging with existing and potential providers of GP services and commissioners to gain a better understanding of:

• variations in access and quality of GP services and the factors which limit patients’ ability to make choices about their care
• the factors that limit commissioners’ ability to enable high-quality providers of GP services to invest in expanding their services, or for high-quality potential providers to begin offering GP services

A series of structured interviews are taking place with providers of GP services and potential providers of GP services to gain understanding of the above issues directly from the frontline.

Monitor has also commissioned a patient survey to understand the extent to which people are exercising their right to choose a GP practice, and how those choices are being made.

Feedback so far

Monitor has received 180 written responses from patients and their representatives, general practice service providers and other healthcare services, commissioners, local medical committees, provider representative bodies (including pharmacists) and others (including other regulators).

Alongside written submissions, Monitor has reviewed relevant literature and conducted interviews and roundtable discussions with patient representative groups, members of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association, the Care Quality Commission, commissioners, and other experts and commentators.

Listen: Catherine Davies, director of co-operation and competition at Monitor, introduces the call for evidence and invites you to submit your views