£40m for GPs to give 300,000 vulnerable patients extra care and keep them out of hospital this winter

Up to 300,000 of the most vulnerable patients in England, including people living with heart disease, frailty and lung conditions, will get extra help from their GP this winter under a new £40 million programme announced on 9 November.

The aim is simple: to catch small problems early and keep people well at home, rather than waiting until they are seriously ill and need a hospital bed. For Birmingham, where winter regularly puts the city's hospitals under heavy pressure, it means more of that care being offered at local surgeries.

What patients can expect

The ring-fenced money will help GP practices identify the patients they consider most at risk of becoming seriously unwell over the coming months, and then offer them more support. That could include medication reviews, health checks, home assessments to prevent falls and nurse-led respiratory clinics.

The programme is targeted particularly at people with heart disease, frailty, emphysema and other forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Primary care networks, the groups of practices that work together across a neighbourhood, will receive £126 for each eligible patient they support.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "If we want to take the pressure off our hospitals this winter, we've got to keep people well at home. So we're backing GPs to reach the most vulnerable people early, before a small problem turns into a trip to A&E."

"I'm not going to pretend this winter will be easy," he added. "But with new technology, upgrades for hospitals and more care available closer to home, we'll make sure the NHS is there for everyone when they need it."

More GPs and more appointments

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the plan "helps GPs and local teams to provide more support for the frailest patients in the community to keep them well through the winter months."

The government says there are now more than 2,800 more GPs than in July 2024, with over 30,500 fully qualified full-time equivalent GPs in general practice, the highest number in more than a decade. More than 400 million appointments were delivered over the past year, around 24 million more than in the 12 months before July 2024. Since October, practices have also been able to use reimbursement funding to bring in locum GPs when demand rises.

Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services at NHS England, said GP teams "are perfectly placed to spot patients at greatest risk of becoming very unwell."

"By offering more support to our most vulnerable patients such as home assessments to prevent falls, we will help keep them well and prevent them ending up in hospital this winter," she said.

A welcome first step

The National Association of Primary Care welcomed the scheme. Its clinical chair, Professor Andy Brooks, said: "We welcome this investment, and the ambition here is right." He called it "a valuable first step", adding that the association would like national policy to go further to build lasting proactive care in neighbourhoods.

What you can do

Practices will decide which of their patients are offered the extra support, so there is no need to apply. Anyone with a long-term condition can help themselves stay well this winter by keeping up with repeat prescriptions, taking up the flu and other winter vaccines they are offered, and contacting their surgery or NHS 111 early if their symptoms change, rather than waiting for things to get worse.