GP Federations and Provider Organisations

Up-to-date advice in a fast changing environment

The role of GPs as healthcare providers is changing as the NHS system responds to the NHS Five Year Forward View. This offers opportunities for GPs. One of the ways to maximise opportunities to provide new services will be to team up with other GP practices to form GP federations provider companies.

For example, setting up GP federations may be a good way of participating in developing new care models such as Multispeciality Community Providers and Primary and Acute Care Systems. It can bring the following advantages:

  • Practices can scale up to bid for contracts beyond the capability of an individual practice.
  • Practices can share expertise, putting them in a better position to win contracts and generate new income streams.
  • Practices can share resources and costs, potentially leading to cost savings and reductions in overall tax liability.
  • For individual GPs it can allow for a focus on specialism, improved professional development and training opportunities and exit/retirement strategies.

Another option is setting up a super-partnership. Please click here for information.

 Our Health Partnership is a pioneering Super Partnership venture that we are proud to have helped create. We already have similar projects in the pipeline and we look forward to advising many more of our primary care clients as they move to embrace new NHS models of care structures.

How we can help GPs to set up provider companies

Options appraisals – assessing different types of corporate structure to ensure you pick the right model.

Governance arrangements – internal governance arrangements for the organisation including criteria for membership and the Board, and sharing of decisions between the Board and member practices.

Social enterprise – setting up an organisation that operates for the benefits of staff, patients and the community.

Workforce – employing staff, complying with TUPE and managing the transfer of staff from one organisation to another.

NHS Pensions – ensuring access to the NHS Pension Scheme.

Regulatory compliance –compliance with the requirements of regulators, including the Care Quality Commission, NHS Improvement and the Competition and Markets Authority.

Contracting – GMS, PMS and APMS arrangements and the Multispeciality Community Provider Contracts and Primary and Acute Care Systems Contract.

Collaboration and competition – how to manage risks under competition law when collaborating with other organisations.

Bidding for new contracts – managing tender processes and procurement law.

Estates – managing your estate to the best effect.

Intellectual property – protecting and exploiting IP.

Board training – improving Board effectiveness and ensuring directors understand their responsibilities.

Conflicts of interest – managing conflicts of interest between commissioner and provider roles.

Contracting – contracting arrangements with NHS England, commissioners and local authorities and joint working and collaboration arrangements with other providers.

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