This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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GP Quality Indicators
27/05/2005
Information showing how GP surgeries are performing
against national quality indicators is published for the
first time today.
Health Minister Andy Kerr said the results clearly
demonstrate how the new General Medical Services (GMS)
contract for GP practices is driving up standards of
patient care.
Under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF),
practices earn extra funding by scoring 'points' by
carrying out certain measures to improve the care of
patients with specific illnesses, patient record
management, communication with patients and staff
training.
Mr Kerr said:
"The Quality and Outcomes Framework is all about
improving services for patients and rewarding practices
which are delivering improved quality of care.
"The data published today enables patients for the first
time to access information on the performance of their
practice. Scotland is leading the way here. We are the
first country in the UK to publish this information.
"GP practices across the country scored very highly
against a wide range of quality indicators. This reflects
the hard work practices have put in over the past year to
achieve higher standards of care.
"Practices should aim to secure long-term health
improvements amongst patients by tracking and monitoring
the progress of certain conditions. The Framework will
encourage practices to help prevent illness from happening
in the first place and pick up illness earlier. This will
reduce the risk of complications and improve quality of
life, so there will be health benefits for all.
"Today's data shows a significant achievement by
practices and I want to congratulate them. It is excellent
news for patients. I am confident that the compiling of
this data and the rewarding of GP practices for providing
quality services, will lead to improved patient care and a
reduction of illness in the long-term.
"It is important that this information is not viewed as
a league table for practices. Comparisons amongst practices
in different parts of Scotland should be made with care,
practices have different types and numbers of patients
depending on their area. It is certainly true that
practices in more deprived and remote areas face greater
challenges than in affluent urban areas.
"The aim of the Framework is practice improvement and
the enhancement of quality of care for patients over time,
rather than between practices.
"This is a voluntary scheme that has had a huge take-up
by GP practices. It is an extremely promising start and as
it continues to improve care over time, it should have a
major impact on the health of our communities."
The main highlights of the data are:
- The average practice score of the 913 General
Medical Services (GMS) practices (out of a total of
1025 practices) is 92.5 per cent, they scored 971.3
points out of a possible 1050 points
- On average each GMS practice earned £76,400 from
QoF in 2004/05
- The average practice score of the non-GMS practices
(operating 17C/2C schemes) is 86.1 per cent, they
scored 903.9 points out of a possible 1050 points
- On average each non-GMS practice earned £64,750
from QoF in 2004/05. Non-GMS practices have different
contractual and payment arrangements
- In the clinical domain the highest percentage of
points achieved were for high blood pressure (99 per
cent) and diabetes (96 per cent)
- Nearly all boards achieved at least 95 per cent
compliance in meeting the Scottish 48 hour access
target for patients having access to a health
professional by telephone or in person on the basis of
clinical need
Practices will be measured on indicators such as:
- 10 clinical domains - the treatment of the
following conditions: asthma, Coronary Heart Disease
(CHD), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD),
mental health, hypertension (high blood pressure),
cancer, stroke and transient ischaemic attack,
hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid), epilepsy and
diabetes
- Organisational domain - e.g. good management of
patients records including up-to-date summaries,
systematic review of medication for those on repeat
prescriptions, improved communication with patients and
all new staff should receive induction training
- Patient experience domain - e.g. ensuring routine
appointments are at least 10 minutes long, annual
patient surveys to be discussed with patient groups and
acted upon
- Additional services domain - e.g. practices must
inform all women of the results of cervical smears and
child development checks must carried out
- Holistic payment and quality practice payment -
these reflect achievement over a wide range of
indicators across all domains
- Access bonus - for compliance with the 48 hour
access target
QoF data is part of the new General Medical Services
(GMS) contract for 2004/05. It is designed to offer
financial rewards to general practices for providing good
quality care to patients to help fund work to further
improve the quality of health care delivered. The GMS
contract is a UK contract but does have customised elements
to reflect the distinct circumstances of Scotland. 1,025
General Practices participated.
The total remuneration awarded to practices across
Scotland for QOF achievement points was £77 million, which
is equivalent to a national average of £75,000 per
practice.
Of all patients registered with GMS practices in
Scotland, the prevalence rates for the following diseases
were:
- Asthma - 5.4 per cent
- Diabetes - 3.2 per cent
- Epilepsy - 0.7 per cent
- Hypertension (high blood pressure) - 11.5 per
cent
Practices treating many patients with these conditions
will be rewarded.
Initially each point is worth £75 however the total
remuneration is adjusted depending on the practice size and
disease prevalence. A total of 1050 points is available for
each general practice.