AQW 36757/22-27


Miss Nuala McAllister
Alliance Party
North Belfast


Tabled Date: 03/12/2025
Answered On Date: 18/12/2025
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of additional GPs that will be delivered as a result of commitments made to support practices to increase their capacity in his Overarching Winter Preparedness Plan 2025-26.


Answer:
As in previous years, General Practice will continue to play a crucial role in helping to manage additional service demand and to keep people safe this winter.
As independent contractors, GPs are responsible for identifying and recruiting the number of GPs and other staff required to deliver services.
This winter, funding totalling £3.4m has been identified from within the overall General Medical Services 2025/26 budget to support GP services with the increased demand over the winter period.
The Northern Ireland Local Enhanced Service Managing Winter Pressures for 2025/26 enables practices to put plans into place to manage the increase in demand and to provide additional direct clinical patient care over the winter period. This enhanced service aims to:
Help practices cope with the increase in demand over the Winter period;
Reduce Winter pressures on unscheduled care by increasing availability of patient care in GP practices through telephone & video consultations as well as direct face to face appointments where necessary; and
Ensure practices can manage demand appropriately after bank holiday closures.
My Department will also provide additional support from within existing budgets to assist GP practices across Northern Ireland to deliver proactive support and care to those in nursing and residential care homes through completing medical care plans, including assessing whether referral to an ED is needed, and a GP-led fortnightly proactive review.
As a result of this expenditure, we anticipate the delivery of over 8,000 additional sessions to help manage winter pressures in General Practice and around 10,000 medical care plans for patients in nursing and residential care homes.