The future of the NHS depends on primary care – not just because primary care provides the first point of contact for most patients but because primary care will play a central role in the integrated care systems of the future. As Simon Stevens put it starkly, “if general practice fails, the NHS fails”.
Primary care can only continue to fulfil its current and future roles if it gets the support it needs to manage existing demand, cope with challenges to the workforce and embrace new ways of working.
