§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the desirability of enforcing common guidelines across all general practices relating to how often general practitioners should visit their elderly patients each year. [153385]
§ Mr. DenhamThe NHS Plan principles of ensuring that the National Health Service provides a comprehensive range of high-quality services—services based on clinical needs—will be enshrined in the National Service Framework (NSF) for older people.
The NSF, which will be published shortly, will for the first time set national standards and define service models for the health and social care of older people. The NSF will apply to general practitioners and to other providers of care to older people. There will also be programmes in place to support its implementation and progress will be measured against national milestones and performance indicators.