NHS England is engaging with local communities, clinicians and stakeholders, about the best possible way to develop general practice for the future. NHS England wants general practice to play an even stronger role at the heart of more integrated out of hospital services that deliver better health outcomes, more personalised care, excellent patient experience and the most efficient possible use of NHS resources.

General practice and wider primary care services are facing increasing pressures, linked to an ageing population, increasing numbers of people with multiple long term conditions, declining patient satisfaction with access to services, and problems with recruitment and retention in some areas. General practice and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are increasingly looking at how they can transform the way they provide services so that they can better meet these challenges.

As part of NHS England’s 10 year strategy to transform the NHS, it is reviewing the current primary care system and engaging with key partners, including frontline clinicians, to develop a long term, effective solution. This approach forms part of the wider ‘The NHS belongs to the people: a call to action’ that NHS England launched on 11 July 2013.

The main purpose is to stimulate debate in local communities, among GP practices, CCGs, area teams, health and wellbeing boards and other community partners, on the best way to develop general practice services. NHS England is also inviting comments about how it can best support local changes, for example through the way national contractual frameworks are developed.

There is widespread agreement that, in supporting reform of primary care services, NHS England must take great care to build on the many strengths of existing general practice such as its system of registered patient lists, its generalist skills and its central role in the management of long term conditions. NHS England is also developing its strategic approach to commissioning primary dental, pharmacy and eye care services and will carry out separate engagement exercises at a later stage.

Find out how you can take part in ‘Improving general practice – a call to action’.