Care homes 'will no longer pay retainers to GP practices'

Care England, a representative body for independent care providers, has warned that the practice of General Practitioners (GPs) charging care homes retainer fees to guarantee NHS care for their residents is ‘unacceptable’.

Research conducted by Care England has revealed that many care homes throughout the country have to pay GPs to visit residents, which is at odds with a health service for all.

Chief executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green, said: “Our members will no longer pay retainers to GP Practices; this should be no surprise to GPs as we have been making arguments regarding their unfairness for many years. One of our members is paying £70,000 per month and this is unacceptable.

“Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, has gone on record in his Five Year Forward for the NHS, emphasising the importance of care home residents having the access to healthcare that they would receive if they were living in their own homes.”

The GP Retainer Scheme is designed to ensure that doctors who undertake a small amount of clinical work may keep in touch with general practice, retain their skills and progress their careers with a view to returning to NHS general practice in the future.

In response to the research, the Social Care Institute for Excellence has advised care providers and managers of care homes to take necessary steps to ensure residents have appropriate, high-quality GP and primary care services readily available to them.

NHS services are provided on the basis of need and free at the point of delivery. However, in the 2012 'Health care in Care Homes' Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, variations were found in the provision and funding of key elements of NHS services for care home residents. In its review, the CQC reported variations between the services care homes received by GPs and the care providers that paid for them.

Statistics from the report revealed that 33 per cent of homes stated that GPs did not provide post-admission assessments for residents, while 53 per cent said they were provided and paid for by the Primary Care Trust (PCT) and seven per cent said that they were provided but paid for by the care home.

Professor Green continued: “We need clarification as to what differentiates basic and enhanced services from a GP. We accept that enhanced services can be paid for and that these arrangements can be independently negotiated between a home and a practice.

"As it stands the definition of a basic service offered in the General Medical Services Contract (GMS) is far too vague to enable negotiations to take place in many areas. Clarification is urgently needed and a clear definition must be offered in the Contract for 2016 to 17.”