DHSC pledges consideration of rural issues in Carr-Hill formula review

Recommendations for review of the Carr-Hill formula are with the Department for consideration, including how to target resources more effectively, pharmacy minister Dame Diana Johnson has said.

In a written answer to Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer, she said that ministers “recognise the particular challenges rural communities can face in accessing general practices (GPs).”

Among the recent actions taken to date are a £292 million practice-level reimbursement scheme to help practices recruit more GPs or expand sessions.

In the NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board there was a 2.6 per cent increase in appointments delivered by GPs in the 12-months to July 26, she said.

Mr Spencer asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of incentives for recruiting and retaining GPs and other healthcare professionals in rural areas such as Suffolk.

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