§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much extra funding will be provided to practices to support standards in managing high blood pressure; and what the criteria will be for claiming it. [130111]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe new contract for general medical services (QMS), accepted by general practitioners on 20 June 2003, will significantly benefit patients by improving the quality of care, including the management of high blood pressure, and widening the range of services available at GP surgeries.
Two thirds of the additional investment linked to the GMS contract has been earmarked to reward practices for better services. This funding will be allocated through a new Quality and Outcomes Framework, which sets out a range of indicators relating to the detection, recording and management of patients with high blood pressure. Practices will gain a certain number of points according to their performance against these indicators. A typical practice with average list size achieving all the hypertension points might expect to earn £12,975.
Under the new arrangements for the national health service as outlined in "Shifting the Balance of Power", primary care trusts now allocate funding from their own devolved budgets to deliver national targets and milestones and to meet local priorities. The NHS Planning and Performance Framework target for coronary heart disease (CHD) registers requires that the majority of patients at high risk of CHD, particularly those with hypertension, diabetes and a body mass index 595W greater than 30 are covered by systematic treatment regimes, including appropriate advice on diet, physical activity and smoking.