Dementia Payments
According to The Guardian the NHS in England has abandoned plans to pay GPs a bonus for spotting and correctly diagnosing any patients who develop dementia.
A good thing too if you ask me, and I'm sure that Private Eye (see post below) played a role in securing this small victory for common sense.
NHS to discontinue dementia diagnosis payments to GP practices
Scheme to improve diagnosis rates that has been fiercely criticised by GPs and patient groups will not be renewed in March
By Haroon Siddique - The Guardian
The scheme to pay surgeries was introduced as part of a drive to raise the diagnosis rate from half to two-thirds of all those who develop dementia. Photograph: Alamy
A controversial scheme to pay GPs’ practices £55 each time they diagnose a patient with dementia is to be discontinued, the head of the NHS in England has announced.
GPs’ representatives and patient groups fiercely condemned the payments, which are part of a drive to increase diagnoses of the condition, as ethically questionable and damaging to the relationship between doctor and patient.
Simon Stevens said on Wednesday that the scheme would end in March, describing it as a “one-time catch-up opportunity for practices who want to take it” and an unusual situation.
Despite the flak the scheme has received and the decision not to continue with it, he said there were no regrets about its introduction.
“I think it’s too early for hindsight,” he told medical website Pulse. “We need to look at the dementia diagnosis rate through the year before we do that. It is not driven by patient preference, but by different levels of focus on this topic.
“If people don’t want to take the payment, that’s entirely legitimate. The underlying point though is you have a lot of variation in your chance as a patient with early stage dementia in having that identified and getting the support, whether that is medicine or a care plan.
“There are quite a lot of people who are not having the opportunity to get that early information and support, so there’s a whole range of things being done to address that, and this is only a small part.”
The NHS says there may be about 400,000 people living with dementia who have not been formally diagnosed.
The payment scheme was introduced as part of a drive to get the rate of diagnosis up from about half to two-thirds of all those who develop the condition. GP practices that have registered will receive payment based on their net increase in diagnoses between 30 September this year and the end of March next year.
Responding to the news that the scheme would be dropped, Dr Richard Vautrey, the deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said the NHS had “finally listened to GPs and the BMA, who have raised concerns about the government directly linking payments to specific targets.
“Decisions about an individual’s care should always be based on clinical need, not financial imperatives, and while the diagnosis of dementia is important it should not be done in a way that could seriously undermine the doctor/patient relationship.”
He accused the NHS of wasting money on “short-term, pre-election targets”, when it should be investing properly in GP services.
Martin Brunet, a GP in Guildford, Surrey, who revealed the scheme’s existence in an article he wrote for Pulse, said: “I like to think that they have listened. I think they were probably surprised by how unpopular it has been not just among doctors but also the public. I hope we can make it clear that we should never be paid on the basis of diagnoses.”
An NHS spokeswoman said the scheme was always intended to be short-term, ending in March 2015.
Private Eye, the UK's best and only fortnightly satirical magazine, rightly gives both barrels to latest crazy plan for wasting large sums of public money on the NHS.
'Doctors to be paid to do their job' shock
by Our Medical Staff
Dee Mentia and Al. Z. Heimers
In a bold move to drag the NHS into the 21st century, the government last night announced that it is to pay GPs £55 for spotting that any of their patients are suffering from senile dementia.
Doctors' leaders gave a cautious welcome to the proposal, but said they hoped it was only the first step in providing suitable incentives to encourage GPs to report many other common complaints.
Speaking from his Algarve holiday home, Dr Ivor Locum said, "Of course this is a good idea, but I now expect the Department of Health to roll out a full 'Monetisation' programme to ensure that millions more patients can be drawn into the NHS safety net."
"I suggest that we GPs should receive £150 for identifying anyone with a cold, £200 for spotting a case of the 'flu' and £1,000 for correctly diagnosing that the patient is dead."
How it will work
Doctor: Ah, Mrs Jones, when did you last see a doctor?
Mrs Jones: I can't remember.
Doctor: Excellent! I can now claim my £55. Next patient please.....
A controversial scheme to pay GPs’ practices £55 each time they diagnose a patient with dementia is to be discontinued, the head of the NHS in England has announced.
GPs’ representatives and patient groups fiercely condemned the payments, which are part of a drive to increase diagnoses of the condition, as ethically questionable and damaging to the relationship between doctor and patient.
Simon Stevens said on Wednesday that the scheme would end in March, describing it as a “one-time catch-up opportunity for practices who want to take it” and an unusual situation.
Despite the flak the scheme has received and the decision not to continue with it, he said there were no regrets about its introduction.
“I think it’s too early for hindsight,” he told medical website Pulse. “We need to look at the dementia diagnosis rate through the year before we do that. It is not driven by patient preference, but by different levels of focus on this topic.
“If people don’t want to take the payment, that’s entirely legitimate. The underlying point though is you have a lot of variation in your chance as a patient with early stage dementia in having that identified and getting the support, whether that is medicine or a care plan.
“There are quite a lot of people who are not having the opportunity to get that early information and support, so there’s a whole range of things being done to address that, and this is only a small part.”
The NHS says there may be about 400,000 people living with dementia who have not been formally diagnosed.
The payment scheme was introduced as part of a drive to get the rate of diagnosis up from about half to two-thirds of all those who develop the condition. GP practices that have registered will receive payment based on their net increase in diagnoses between 30 September this year and the end of March next year.
Responding to the news that the scheme would be dropped, Dr Richard Vautrey, the deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said the NHS had “finally listened to GPs and the BMA, who have raised concerns about the government directly linking payments to specific targets.
“Decisions about an individual’s care should always be based on clinical need, not financial imperatives, and while the diagnosis of dementia is important it should not be done in a way that could seriously undermine the doctor/patient relationship.”
He accused the NHS of wasting money on “short-term, pre-election targets”, when it should be investing properly in GP services.
Martin Brunet, a GP in Guildford, Surrey, who revealed the scheme’s existence in an article he wrote for Pulse, said: “I like to think that they have listened. I think they were probably surprised by how unpopular it has been not just among doctors but also the public. I hope we can make it clear that we should never be paid on the basis of diagnoses.”
An NHS spokeswoman said the scheme was always intended to be short-term, ending in March 2015.
GP Payment Plan (16 November 2014)
Private Eye, the UK's best and only fortnightly satirical magazine, rightly gives both barrels to latest crazy plan for wasting large sums of public money on the NHS.
'Doctors to be paid to do their job' shock
by Our Medical Staff
Dee Mentia and Al. Z. Heimers
In a bold move to drag the NHS into the 21st century, the government last night announced that it is to pay GPs £55 for spotting that any of their patients are suffering from senile dementia.
Doctors' leaders gave a cautious welcome to the proposal, but said they hoped it was only the first step in providing suitable incentives to encourage GPs to report many other common complaints.
Speaking from his Algarve holiday home, Dr Ivor Locum said, "Of course this is a good idea, but I now expect the Department of Health to roll out a full 'Monetisation' programme to ensure that millions more patients can be drawn into the NHS safety net."
"I suggest that we GPs should receive £150 for identifying anyone with a cold, £200 for spotting a case of the 'flu' and £1,000 for correctly diagnosing that the patient is dead."
NEW GP PAYMENT PLAN
How it will work
Doctor: Ah, Mrs Jones, when did you last see a doctor?
Mrs Jones: I can't remember.
Doctor: Excellent! I can now claim my £55. Next patient please.....
