GPs and hospitals should be “working together more closely”, says former health secretary

As reported by The Times, Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, has stated that hospitals should be given incentives to employ GPs directly and take over local practices

Javid called for “fundamental reform” to the traditional model of primary care, under which GP surgeries operate as independent businesses.

He said the current system led to a “disconnect” between NHS hospitals and family doctors, which hampers efforts to tackle chronic diseases.

Javid said GPs and hospitals should be “working together more closely” in communities, with NHS trusts encouraged to employ GPs on salaries.

“Taxpayers foot the bill whether GPs are contracted or employed directly by the NHS,” Javid said. “But the ability to drive better co-ordination to support patient care, alongside greater strategic planning on prevention, are tangible benefits. The government should now commission a comprehensive independent review into primary care to assess what change is required.”

Under the partnership system, practices are owned by self-employed GP partners who hold contracts with the NHS to deliver services.

Javid, who was health secretary from June 2021 to July last year, criticised the government’s decision to abandon a ten-year dementia strategy aimed at speeding up diagnosis and preventing four in ten cases.

He said he was disappointed that the government axed the scheme in favour of a “broader approach”.

Javid said tackling dementia was a “moral imperative” and an “economic, health and fiscal necessity”, with 1.6m people in the UK predicted to have the disease by 2040. He said this spread was “not inevitable” if long-term strategies were devised to drive improvements in prevention, treatment and early diagnosis.