27.11.14
GPs welcome plans to scrap dementia diagnosis payments
GP leaders have welcomed the decision by NHS England to scrap its ‘controversial’ dementia diagnosis incentive payment scheme.
The scheme, which pays practices £55 for each additional dementia diagnosis if they show a net increase on the practice register from October to the end of March 2015, will not be renewed when it expires in April next year.
This was according to NHS England’s chief executive Simon Stevens in an interview with Pulse yesterday. However, he didn’t regret the scheme’s introduction. Instead, he said it was a ‘one-time catch up opportunity’.
Last week the deadline for signing up to the scheme was extended by a week, but the BMA’s GP Committee advised practices to think carefully about engaging with the scheme.
In response to the latest news, Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chair of the BMA’s GP Committee, said: “It is good to see that NHS England have 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 undermines the doctor/patient relationship.”
He also called for ‘proper investment’ to help GPs provide holistic care to those suffering from dementia, rather than “wasting money on short-term, pre-election targets”.
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