Primary care
NHS Kent and Medway commissions primary care services (primary medical, dental, optometry and community pharmacy services) on behalf of NHS England.
Primary care
GP practices
GP practices are independent businesses that hold a contract with the NHS to provide primary medical care services. While NHS Kent and Medway commissions them to deliver these services, GPs are entirely responsible for running their own business, including day-to-day decisions such as:
- how to organise appointments
- which staff to hire
- how to manage the premises they deliver services from and equipment they need.
They are organised into primary care networks.
Contract
This contract is held between the NHS and individual or partnerships of GPs and is the same contract across the country. GP practices can be run by individual doctors, partnerships, or limited companies. They provide services under one of three national GP contracts — General Medical Services (GMS), Personal Medical Services (PMS), or Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS). These contracts are held between the NHS and the practice, setting out the services they must provide to patients.
They may have several smaller contracts for other services as well. They must follow NHS rules for safety and quality, and they need to talk to patients about any big changes.
What happens when a GP practice wants to make a change?
Find out what happens when a GP practice wants to make a change?
How does NHS Kent and Medway make decisions about GP buildings?
Find out how NHS Kent and Medway make decisions about GP buildings.