The UK government has announced a £40 million programme designed to support up to 300,000 patients identified as being vulnerable this winter with additional GP support, in an attempt to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and provide proactive care to those with conditions such as heart disease or frailty.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “If we want to take the pressure off our hospitals this winter, we’ve got to keep people well at home. So we’re backing GPs to reach the most vulnerable people early, before a small problem turns into a trip to A&E.” The winter ahead won’t be easy, he continued, but new technology, upgrades for hospitals, and care closer to home will help “make sure the NHS is there for everyone when they need it”.
The funding will reportedly support GP practices proactively identify and provide additional care for patients most at risk of becoming seriously unwell over the winter period, with a focus on those with heart disease, frailty, emphysema and other types of COPD. Estimates are that it will support areas such as medication reviews and health checks for up to 300,000 people.
“There are now more than 2,800 additional GPs compared with July 2024, and more than 30,500 fully qualified full-time equivalent GPs are now working in general practice, the highest number in over a decade,” the government outlines. “As a result, patients are seeing improvements in GP access, with over 400 million appointments delivered over the past year, around 24 million more than in the equivalent twelve-month period in the run-up to July 2024.”
Funding will help general practice play an even greater role in keeping vulnerable patients well and preventing avoidable hospital admissions, it continues. This is alongside wider actions to prepare the NHS for winter, including further funding for urgent care, the expansion of Pharmacy First, and investment in new scanners and AI technology for CT and MRI.
The government has also pledged £140 million to 14 new urgent and emergency care schemes, aiming to increase capacity and improve patient flow. These schemes include ED improvements, new urgent treatment centres, and enhancements to digital systems.
Commenting on the announcement, Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We welcome the focus on prevention and supporting patients at greatest risk of avoidable hospital admission this winter. GPs’ clinical expertise, knowledge of their patients and continuity of care are central to identifying those most in need and providing personalised, coordinated support….Short-term initiatives alone cannot deliver the sustained improvements in care that patients with complex health needs require. We hope the evaluation will inform a longer-term approach to prevention, supported by sustainable investment in general practice.”
Wider trend: NHS transformation
The UK government has issued its response to the recommendations made by the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, choosing to accept all 44 findings, and highlight an upcoming implementation plan and roadmap to be published by Spring 2027. The commission published its recommendations for a future regulatory framework in September, finding: “Current approaches were largely designed for products that are more static and easier to reliably assess at a single point in time. AI-enabled products may iterate rapidly, perform differently in different settings and depend on the data, workflows, people and organisations around them.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has opened a preliminary market engagement to support plans to develop a national workforce development framework and curriculum designed to promote consistency in skills, competencies, training, and professional development. With a maximum value of £1.3 million, the contract is split into two phases, with the first to establish the framework covering core competencies and skills, guidance on supervision models, advice on career progression, and principles for continuing professional development. An evidence and landscape review, along with structured stakeholder engagement, will also be carried out and fed into a report setting out baseline competencies and recommendations.
The Department of Health and Social Care has selected six neighbourhood health projects to act as “trailblazers” in the redesign of health and care services, backed by £1.5 million from the Office for the Impact Economy and in partnership with Macmillan. The six sites chosen will act as test beds for the development of new neighbourhood health models, bringing together NHS services, councils, community organisations, and local people in a bid to improve outcomes and tackle inequalities, DHSC shares. Projects include Bristol NHS Foundation Trust’s 1,000 days neighbourhood model, using population health data and community networks to improve end-of-life care and support individuals with frailty and multiple conditions outside of hospital settings.
