This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Investment in new GP premises
13/02/2004
NHS Boards in Scotland have been allocated a 65 per cent
increase in funding over three years to build and upgrade
GP premises, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm announced
today.
This increase in recurring funding, for the next two
years 2004-06, will underpin arrangements for the new GP
contract.
It means that investment in GP premises will rise from
£41.7 million in 2002-03 to £69.1 million in 2005-06.
As well as helping GPs move from inadequate premises,
the funding is intended to sustain momentum towards
bringing primary care, local authority and voluntary sector
services under one roof.
It follows the announcement in December of £4 million to
fund the Partnership Agreement commitment to develop
Community Health Service Centres that will provide
treatment, diagnostic and support services in one
facility.
The Minister said:
"Most patient's contact begins and ends in their local
primary care centre whether it is visiting their GP, seeing
the nurse or even the dentist. We want to ensure that this
experience is a positive one. One important element is the
actual facilities that patients visit. We want to ensure
that these are modern and bring together a range of
services for patients to access.
"Recent investment has resulted in new purpose built
premises for communities across Scotland, particularly in
deprived areas, with the aim of addressing health
inequalities and improving access to health services. This
investment will build on that.
"The White Paper, Partnership for Care, advocated a
strategic shift of service delivery from the secondary to
the primary care sector. These allocations will facilitate
that move and enable patients to be treated more
effectively as close to home as possible."
NHS Boards will now be able to take forward a number of
projects where funding has been committed. Recently
completed examples of new purpose-built GP accommodation
include:
- Strathbrock Resource Centre, Broxburn in West
Lothian
- Dalmellington & Drongan Partnership Centres in
Ayrshire
- Replacement Primary Care premises at Crieff,
Comrie, Aberfeldy in Tayside
The Executive has also issued
proposals for consultation on a new initiative to
develop primary care and community based facilities and
services.
The consultation seeks comments on the LIFT (Local
Improvement Finance Trust) arrangements currently running
in England, and on other models that would encourage and
expedite developments in priority areas.
They would allow Ministers and the NHS in Scotland to
form, or take part in forming companies, to provide joint
facilities with, for example, local authorities.
The proposals would bring the NHS into line with local
authorities who already have powers under the Local
Government Scotland Act 2003, and allow health and local
authority partners to work more effectively together.
Mr Chisholm said:
"The NHS has made strides in upgrading and modernising
facilities and worked well with local authorities to
provide a range of services under one roof. But we want
patients all over Scotland to be able to access healthcare
in modern, fit for purpose facilities, wherever possible
with co-located local authority and other public
services.
"While we will continue to invest public finance towards
that aim, we want to speed up that modernisation process
across Scotland. We are pragmatic about how that can be
achieved which is why we are now proposing alternative
forms of finance, tailored to the needs of Health Board
areas, whose development needs are not being adequately met
by the funding tools currently available."
Through the Primary Care Modernisation Programme over
£51 million in capital investment has already secured the
upgrading or new provision of 100 facilities across
Scotland.
GP practices are responsible for providing their own
premises, which have traditionally been funded through a
number of alternative routes, private owner occupied,
privately rented, and publicly funded. Since 1999, 43 new
purpose-built GP premises have been opened in Scotland.
The GP premises revenue allocations are intended to meet
GPs' rent, rates, and water charges, minor improvements and
development costs.
They have been set in accordance with the arrangements
agreed as part of the new GP contract are based on
practices' recurring expenditure on rent and rates plus an
allowance in respect of GP commitments for new leasehold
premises, and reflect higher levels of expenditure in
Health Board areas where investment plans are most
advanced.
The figures for 2005-6 also include a further #2.3m
shared between all Health Boards on the basis of the
Scottish Allocation Formula (SAF) used for all spending on
General Medical Services.
A further £2.3m has been allocated to those Health
Boards below notional (SAF) shares. It will now be for
Health Baords to schedule the application of these funds in
the light of GPs' commitments. The final development needs
for Island Boards will be met from a central retention.