General Practice Improvement Programme (GPIP)

The RCGP is one of five delivery partners contracted by NHS England to support delivery of the General Practice Improvement Programme (GPIP), which is part of the Primary Care Recovery Plan.

A line of seated medical professionals in discussion.

As we know, demand and complexity in general practice are increasing, and practices are facing a widening gap between patient demand and the capacity available to meet that demand, while GP numbers have fallen over recent years. NHS England is supporting practices to move to the modern general practice model, through the GPIP programme. This includes hands-on practice level support delivered by the College and four other delivery partners.  

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "GPs and their teams are working under intense pressures to deliver care for their patients, so the College is looking forward to working with practices on the ground to deliver much needed support. We have years of experience through our successful Primary Care Development programme, which we can bring to help ensure delivery of this programme is successful for the future of general practice, and to help ensure the expertise of the GP profession is a key part of implementation."

GPIP has been pivotal in providing an encouraging platform to share ideas and nurture solutions to collective problems, providing much needed momentum to passionately move us forward to bring about much-needed change.” - Assistant Practice Manager

About Practice Level Support  

Practice Level Support is a hands-on support package available for practices willing and ready to improve how patients contact the practice and are navigated to the most appropriate care. The support can help practices improve care, raise patient satisfaction and take pressure off the team. It is delivered through weekly sessions in the practice and enables and supports practices to plan and deliver improvements.  

How to sign up  

There are two remaining delivery phases in 23/24 running until September 2024.  

The programme is free to access, however places are limited (nominations are managed via ICBs) and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Practices interested in practice level support should contact their ICB for further information.  

For more information about GPIP, including and Practice Level Support visit the NHS England website.

“We are aware that our practice needed to improve its online journey, but to have some dedicated time to actually take a deep dive and look at all the different parts has been really helpful.” - Participating practice manager 

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