A consultation launched by the Department of Health has proposed abolition of catchment areas and GP boundaries. The change would mean that patients who move house would not have to change to a GP near their new home and instead will be able to stay registered with their old doctor and people who would like to register with a GP close to where they work rather than their home will be able to do so.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said "I want the best to be available to everyone, not according to where they live. Too often, people's choice of GP practise is unnecessarily limited by practice boundaries".

The move has prompted fears that ‘better' surgeries would be swamped by an influx of new patients but surgeries would still be able to turn away patients if their lists were full as they do at present. As well as this, funding would follow patients meaning that practices with more patients would receive more money than those with fewer.

The consultation is considering a number of proposals, including keeping practice boundaries but allowing people who live outside these to register with the surgery on the condition that our of hours care will be provided by someone else.

The consultation document, however, warns of a possible strain on A&E services by people who live too far away for their GP to make home visits but have an illness or injury which would make it difficult for them to travel to the surgery. These patients would then end up going to A&E if it was closer than the GP.

PA Policy Director Kieran Mullan said "We support the principle of improving choice in primary care and this consultation is an important first step. But we are also aware that there is no simplye solution and encourage any members of the public who take part to give some real thought to all the implications and what they think is a priority for them. All the stakeholders must work togethor to make sure they come up with a solution that benefits all patients."

The consultation is open until the 28th of May and can be accessed by clicking the link below:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_113437