DOCTORS in South Gloucestershire can now bid for a share of £100m in the second wave of the prime minister’s Challenge Fund.

From Wednesday, October 29 practices are eligible to bid against the fund by working with peers to develop proposals for improving and extending patient access to services.

Priority will be given to places where practices are opening for longer such as 8am to 8pm weekdays and at weekends.

GP practices can submit their application forms for NHS England’s area teams to consider before a national assessment panel makes the final decision. Bids have to serve a minimum population of 30,000.

Mike Bewick, NHS England’s deputy medical director, said:

“Even more patients across the country will now be able to see their family doctor in the most convenient way for them and at a more convenient time. People who struggle to find a GP appointment to fit in with family and work life can now make the most of new technologies.

“The current 20 pilots have had a positive impact in providing patients with better, wide-ranging access to their GP as well as more choice about when and how they see them.

“Our vision for primary care is to see GPs and primary care colleagues play an even stronger role in the heart of local communities, offering more joined up, high quality services and keeping people out of hospital.”

The 20 successful wave one pilots were launched in April, as part of a £50m fund announced by the prime minister.

They were awarded sums ranging from £400k to £5m. A wide variety of ideas are now being trialed including 8am-8pm working, better use of telecare and health apps, access to appointments through e-mail and Skype, and greater flexibility with face-to-face access.

The One Care Consortium successfully bid for £5 million of funding that will result in a primary care system where services are shaped more around the lives of patients.

The programme involves 23 GP Practices covering over 236,000 patients. The pilot could be extended to further 10 GP Practices covering a further 120,000 patients.

Dr Ray Montague, One Care Consortium chair, said:

“GP Practices are working with NHS England to develop our proposals to create innovative ways of providing Primary Care services to patients.

“These services will meet the challenge of improving access to GP advice and consultation whilst simultaneously promoting the relationship with the usual and accountable GP. The first of the projects will be launched in the coming weeks.”

NHS England is overseeing the pilots that, as with wave one, will be part of a 12-month national development and evaluation programme.