§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of general practitioners are fundholders in each region. [25899]
§ Mr. MaloneFrom April 1995, it is estimated that 39 per cent. of general practitioners in England are fundholders, serving over 41 per cent. of the population.
Information, by region, on the general practitioner fundholding scheme is shown in the table.
§ Mr. MaloneThe information requested is not available centrally.
Community health services have been included in the general practitioner fundholding scheme since April 1993. GP fundholders are required to contract for health visiting services with an established national health service 597W provider of community nursing services, or with a provider of community mental health services for community psychiatric nursing services.
§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on geographical variations in the uptake of general practitioner fundholding. [25890]
§ Mr. MaloneThe strength of general practitioner fundholding is its voluntary nature. It is to be expected therefore that the rate at which family doctors take up the opportunities of fundholding will vary, depending on local circumstances and the state of their practice development. The extensions to fundholding announced last October provide a wider range of options for general practitioner teams to improve services for patients in this way.