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Practice Based Commissioning GP practice survey

The Department has commissioned an independent quarterly practice survey, covering a sample of practices from each primary care trust (PCT). The aims of the survey are to get feedback from practices on their perception of the support offered by their PCT and on the clinical and financial engagement of practices with PBC. The survey is part of a group of indicators that will be assessed together to give a picture of PBC implementation.

Key findings

• The majority of practices support PBC as a policy: 57 percent of GPs said they are supportive, whilst a further 22 percent were neutral. Only eight percent strongly oppose the policy.
• 37 percent of practices said it was too early to tell whether PBC has improved patient care. However, 31 percent said that PBC had not improved care and only 13 per cent said that it had.
• A third of practices have commissioned one or more new services through PBC.
• While the majority (56 percent) of practices received an indicative budget from their PCT, most of these believe it has yet to make a difference to the way the GP practice operates.
• Less than half of practices have agreed a commissioning plan with their PCT.
• Over half of practices rate the quality of managerial support provided by their PCT as poor, with 26 percent assessing it as being very poor.
• Only around a third of practices rate the quality, format and frequency of information provided by their PCT as being good.
• 72 percent of practices say they have a good relationship with their PCT.

• Download Practice Based Commissioning GP practice survey (PDF, 400K)