A study from the University of Leicester found that allowing patients to see their preferred GP had a positive impact upon the numbers of patients admitted to hospitals. By allowing only 1% more of patients to see a specific GP, elective hospital admissions were reduced by 7.6 in an average-sized practice from 2006–07.
The study, published in the Journal of Public Health, proposes that changes to allow patients to choose their GP could potentially reduce annual costs through reducing non-emergency admissions. Professor Richard Baker, one of the authors of the study and the Head of Health Sciences at the University of Leicester, said:
The NHS needs to save money, and reducing use of hospitals is key to this. There is now a good deal of evidence that… patients able to book appointments with a doctor they have come to know and trust… is associated with reduced hospital admissions… Non emergency admissions into hospitals increase in line with reduction of a patient’s ability to see their chosen GP.
He went on to propose that the NHS should investigate interventions to improve continuity in primary care in order to reduce hospital admissions and save costs.
