Primary Care Support England is a support service for GP Practices,

Pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

Dentists A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providi ...

and

Opticians An optician is an individual who fits glasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with accessor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It provides administrative and payment services, sends out test results, manages supplies and runs the performers lists. It administers the authorisation process for access to the list of patients registered with GPs in England, processes patient registrations and moves patient records, and issues access credentials. It is run by

Capita Capita plc is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United Kingdom, with an overall ma ...

under a £330 million seven year contract started in 2015. Capita relies on other organisations to provide some services. In May 2018, the National Audit Office reported that failings by Capita and other organisations had hit primary care services and, potentially, put patients at risk. They recommended that

NHS England NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning si ...

should consider taking some or all of the work back in-house. The House of Commons

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

criticised NHS England for its handling of the contract, calling the arrangement short sighted and a shambles, and saying that in its rush to save money. It failed to consider the impact on the 39,000 GPs, dentists, opticians, and pharmacists affected. Katrina Venerus, clinical director of the

Local Optical Committee Support Unit Local Optical Committees are statutory bodies established within the British National Health Service to represent the interests of community optometrists and opticians. There are 78 Local Optical Committees in England. They are supported by the ...

, was seconded to the organisation in August 2018 to help with the modernisation of the ophthalmic payments service. Capita's contract was extended by 3 years in 2022. It will run to 31 August 2025 at a cost of £94 million. The extension was not welcomed by the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Primary care National Health Service (England)