You ask – what is our aim?
Those familiar with the recent Churchill films will be well aware of his bombastic speeches. His answer, of course, was: “Victory… at all costs”.
The Fed’s aims are more modest: “to support primary care…at reasonable cost”. But we remain ambitious and are committed to finding innovative solutions to address challenges.
To help with our planning for 2018/19 we recently reviewed our strategy. You can read more about this here, but before you do I’d like to share some thoughts.
Size matters
The Fed has grown significantly and continues to do so. Our turnover is now nearly £13m a year and we employ 500 staff. This gives us a strong voice when meeting with other health and social care providers and our alliance partners – allowing us to promote the best interests of primary care.
The Fed has become the ‘go to’ default provider for services in primary care. These services would previously not have been funded due to a lack of suitable provider or, instead, given to organisations with less commitment to primary care.
The Fed now provides a wide range of community services with robust clinical and management governance.
Saying ‘yes’
The Fed has tended to say ‘yes’ to opportunities to provide services in primary care. It has been hard in the past for commissioners to deal with multiple contracts with individual practices and other bigger providers have been funded.
We are supported by a robust GP led board. I firmly believe that any decisions we have made to date have been astute and led to our successful growth.
Getting involved
The Fed is involved in both healthcare alliances in Suffolk – as a provider of general practice and as a provider of community services. Engagement with these alliances at the ‘top table’ is vital to prevent us from being side-lined as health and social care work move closer together.
Expansion into primary care provision
The Fed runs three practices across three CCGs. This has been a useful learning experience and enhanced credibility among our alliance partners. We are in a strong position to support other practices in difficulty.
The strength of the Fed supports our member practices in a way that other areas do not enjoy, and I’m grateful for your continued support.
As we grow, the challenge is to stay in touch with our members. Do please contact myself, David Pannell or your area board member with any thoughts or concerns.
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