Government to overhaul funding formula
Patients in poorer parts of the country – including the West Midlands – are set to benefit from a fairer share of NHS resources under a government review of how GP funding is distributed.
The Department of Health and NHS England have launched a six-month review of the long-standing Carr-Hill formula, which determines how much money GP practices receive.
Ministers say the current system, based on data up to 25 years old, no longer reflects modern health needs and disadvantages deprived and coastal areas.
Tackling postcode inequalities
Communities with the highest demand – such as Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Sandwell – often have the fewest GPs and the longest waits for appointments. In some areas, practices serving deprived populations receive almost 10% less funding per patient than those in wealthier neighbourhoods.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said the outdated formula had “left deprived and coastal communities experiencing the highest levels of inequality”.
He added: “It’s vital that we don’t leave any community behind. A patient’s postcode should never determine their access to NHS care.”
The overhaul will form part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, which aims to shift the focus of the NHS from hospital care to community-based prevention and early treatment.
More doctors, better access
The government says it has already invested £1.1 billion in general practice, recruited 2,000 new GPs, and introduced online booking across England – ending the long-criticised 8am phone rush.
Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s National Director for Primary Care, said the reform would help ensure “practices serving our most deprived communities receive a fair share of resources that reflects their need”.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, called the review “long overdue”, adding: “It can’t be right that people in deprived areas – who often have more complex health needs – are less likely to receive the care they need.”
Six-month review begins
The review, led by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, will identify a new allocation formula that better reflects population growth, deprivation and the complexity of modern healthcare needs.
It comes as the government pledges to close the health gap between rich and poor and to deliver what Kinnock called “a fairer, future-focused primary care system that works for every community.”
