A GROUND-breaking NHS scheme which sees health services in Sandwell working together has been praised by GPs following the end of its first year.

The Primary Care Commissioning Framework (PCCF) scheme was launched in 2016 by NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG in a bid to improve quality for patients.

There are a total of ten standards in the PCCF for 2017/18, which link to one or more of five themes – access and experience, outcomes and variation, partnerships and equity, quality and workforce, wellbeing – and the scheme delivered benefits against nine standards in 2016/17.

The CCG claims that in its first year, the scheme has provided “significant health gains” and has been highly commended by GPs and a number of key organisations, including NHS RightCare and Public Health England.

Heath chiefs say GP practices are now working much more closely together, are offering more services to their patients, quality of care has improved, and consistency across practices from a patient perspective has also improved.

Dr Nick Harding, CCG chairman, said: “We are delighted with the results of the PCCF scheme which is helping to develop general practice, encourage partnership working and deliver improvements in clinical outcomes for patients.

“As a CCG we recognise that the experience that a patient receives from primary care can have a significant impact on their health and also their usage of healthcare services across the system.

“We are committed to the development of ‘primary care at scale’ and believe that resourcing and supporting general practices to provide high quality care and services, can provide a solution to a number of problems confronting the NHS.”