Level or not? Comparing general practice in areas of high and low socioeconomic deprivation in England

Abstract

In this briefing we use publicly available data to explore the current relationship between population need and supply in general practice, seeking to answer the question: how does general practice compare in areas of higher and lower socioeconomic deprivation in England? Our analysis contributes to an understanding of the extent to which the inverse care law persists in general practice today. To form a rounded view of general practice we look across the following areas: First, we consider the variation in funding between different providers. This impacts on supply: the number and skills mix of the staff employed in a practice, the infrastructure and equipment available, and information systems used – this also includes the location of the practice. These elements influence access: the number and type of appointments that can be offered, and the staff that provide them. And in turn the quality of services provided to patients, as well as the practice’s ability to coordinate care for their patients. We provide several considerations for policy that could help to level-up general practice in England. Additional effort will be needed to ensure that more GPs (to be recruited following government pledges) are distributed to areas of high deprivation. We also call for a review of funding allocations to general practice in England, which would consider funding for Primary Care Networks and the underlying resource allocation formula, Carr-Hill.