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Class 7. The Primary Care Trust & Independent Practitioners
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This class contains information on the arrangements, policies and procedures for working with independent practitioners (General Practitioners, Community Pharmacists, Optometrists, General Dental Services). | ||
| General Medical Practitioners | |
All General Practitioners working under the General Medical Services arrangements are independent contractors who hold a personal contract individually with the Secretary of State for Health. This contract is governed by the "Statement of Fees and Allowances" (SFA). The role of the Trust is in administering this nationally agreed contract. The Trust also works with the local professional organisation of general practitioners, the Local Medical Committee, on a range of subjects, in particular development of professional issues. |
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| Personal Medical Services | |
Ten practices in the Cotswold & Vale Primary Care Trust operate under an alternative contract form to General Medical Services, known as Personal Medical Services. This is a contract between the Practice and the Primary Care Trust. |
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| General Dental Practitioners | |
All Dentists are independent contractors and work for the NHS through a nationally determined contract, based on a fee per item of service. Administration of this is undertaken through the Dental Practice Board. The role of the Trust is limited to maintaining a register of approved dentists providing NHS dental services in the Primary Care Trust area, and some quality of service inspections. To obtain registration, a dentist is required to provide information and proof of qualifications, experience and identity. The Cotswold & Vale Primary Care Trust acts as the lead for the county on behalf of the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury and West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trusts. Information on the Statement of Dental Remuneration is available by clicking here. The Trust also works with the local professional organisation of general dental practitioners, the Local Dental Committee, and with a wider group of professionals concerned with Oral Health, the Oral Health Advisory Group. |
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| Community Pharmacists | |
Pharmacists are governed by a national contract based on a fee for every item dispensed, which is administered nationally by the Prescription Pricing Authority. There are national regulations established around the change and establishment of new pharmacies which are overseen by the Trust locally. The Trust maintains a list of pharmacists in its area, administered by the Family Health Services Shared Service at Victoria Warehouse. The Trust has a number of direct relationships with pharmacies over a number of project type issues, such as out of hours cover, nursing homes, needle exchange and supervised therapy. Professional development issues are managed by the Local Pharmaceutical Committee, where Primary Care Trusts are represented. |
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| Opticians and Optometrists | |
These are again independent contractors who work for the NHS in a fee per item of service basis. Administration of the payments and inclusion on the list of registered practitioners in the area is undertaken by:
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| Recruitment of New Practitioners | |
As practitioners are employed by the practices, either as salaried staff or partners in the business, the recruitment responsibility lies entirely with the practice. General practices under General Medical Services' regulations have a set maximum number of general practitioners principals they may have, based on practice populations. Decisions on changing the number of whole time equivalent general practitioners in a practice are made by the Trust Board. This process will not be necessary after 1st April 2004 as the new General Medical Services contract gives practices the freedom to recruit as they wish. This freedom currently extends to the 10 Personal Medical Services practices in the Trust area. |
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| Performance Monitoring | |
The performance monitoring of practices is developing. Activity for General Medical Services practices is monitored through Item of Service Claims, quality of service through the Clinical Governance processes. Personal Medical Services practices are monitored against development proposals set by the practice at the start of their Personal Medical Services contract. This will change significantly with the new General Medical Services contract. Access times to a general practitioner or a health care professional are monitored by a monthly survey, the results of which are reported to the Professional Executive Committee and Trust Board. |
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The published information is available on the Trust's website or by contacting:
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| Lists of Independent Contractors | |
The lists of all independent contractors working in the Cotswold & Vale PCT area are available from:
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