General practice is set to receive more funding from the Government, with the amount being set at a four per cent minimum rise every year, over the course of the next five years.

The move has been made to compensate for GP workload changes and NHS England has also confirmed that the current Carr Hill formula, which is used to allocate funding to individual practices, will also be updated after being in use for 10 years.

Next year, the Government budget for general practice will be £7.65 billion, which is an increase of 4.2 per cent from this year’s figure and it represents a level of investment much higher than other services.

Furthermore, NHS England has confirmed that the level of budget allocation will increase by four per cent every year, with a figure of £9.19 billion set to be on offer in 2021, which represents a 25 per cent increase on the current spending level.

In a statement, the health body said: “Spending on GPs and primary medical care services will grow in real terms at a higher rate than for other health services. The primary medical care allocation formula is updated to account for changes in GP workload since the original ‘Carr Hill’ methodology was developed over a decade ago.”

The news has been welcomed by the industry, and NHS England added: “Disproportionately higher funding increases will be available for GP services and primary medical care than for overall CCG growth, with the ability for CCGs to make further investments on top of this using the co-commissioning option.”

Milsted Langdon knows that the demands of running a busy healthcare practice can make it difficult for GPs to give their financial affairs – both professional and personal – the time and attention they deserve. Our services are designed to add value to GP practices and help make financial management easier and more efficient. Our independent, objective advice will also help Practice Managers and GPs plan strategically for the short and long term. For more information, please contact us.