Press release: NHS Employers and GPC call for evidence on QOF
19 Jan 2007
NHS Employers and the BMA's General Practitioners Committee (GPC) today call for patient groups and professional bodies to contribute to the ongoing development of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the GPs' national contract
The team of experts appointed by NHS Employers and the BMA to review the QOF is asking patient groups and professional bodies that have views about a current or future area which they feel should be considered for the QOF to put their evidence to the expert panel review team before the 28 February.
The review team is looking for submissions which show that the condition they are supporting is common, that its care is something that GPs are responsible for and that there is good quality evidence that if GP practices make realistic changes to the way they work, patient health will improve.
Submissions should be made initially by responding to a short questionnaire which will be assessed by the expert panel review team. If the submission meets the series of criteria, a representative of the organisation will be invited to oral evidence sessions being held in April and May in London, Birmingham and Manchester. The expert panel review team has produced a leaflet to explain the process in partnership with the Long Term Medical Conditions Alliance.
Professor Helen Lester who leads the expert panel team said:
"Last time we called for evidence in 2005 we received over 500 submissions, however relatively few were from patient groups. We have changed the process this year to include face to face meetings and hope that this will encourage more patient organisations to contribute their ideas."
Professor Lester and the team of expert panel members will consider all the evidence submitted through the review together with any other evidence that already exists. The expert panel will then submit a series of final reports in all areas of the QOF to the QOF sub-group in the autumn. These will be published once negotiations have been completed.
NHS Employers joint-chair of the QOF review team, Dr Adrian Jacobs, said:
"The QOF is a living thing and will continually need to be developed to keep up with changes in medicine and general practice. The expert team's role is to make sure the QOF reflects health priorities and the evidence available to support them. Public and patient involvement in the QOF is crucial which is why we are hoping that as many people as possible will give us their thoughts and ideas."
GPC joint-chair of the QOF review team, Dr Laurence Buckman, said:
"Family doctors are proud to offer the best evidence-based medicine to patients. We look forward to developing ideas that will improve health care with expert advice. As we discover better evidence, it is essential that the Government provides the resources for us to make this quality of care available."
The questionnaire for evidence submissions can be found at http://www.nhsemployers.org/primary/primary-2173.cfm
Media enquiries:
NHS Employers - please contact Emma Robinson on 020 7074 3307 or emma.robinson@nhsemployers.org
BMA - please contact Linda Millington on 020 7383 6473 or lmillington@bma.org.uk
Notes for editors
* The QOF was introduced into the General Medical Services contract (GMS - the national GP contract) in April 2004.
* It was agreed that the QOF would need to be subject to ongoing review and development in order to ensure it accurately reflected changing general practice.
* There was a call for evidence from patient groups in 2005 which - following negotiations about resources for the changes - resulted in changes to the QOF which came into effect in April 2006. A summary of the submissions was published in July 2006.
* The expert panel was appointed last May for a period of three years to lead the ongoing review of the QOF
* The QOF review is being led by Professor Helen Lester at the University of Manchester and Professor Richard Hobbs at the University of Birmingham with support from the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Society of Academic Primary Care. The expert panel review team consists of over 40 senior academics who are experts in all fields of general practice.
* The Long Term Medical Conditions Alliance will be contacting voluntary organisations about the QOF process and has worked with Helen and the expert panel to produce a leaflet for patient groups and professional bodies.
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