New figures from The NHS Information Centre today (30 September 2008) show that GP practices in England continue to deliver high quality care against a set of quality indicators.

In 2007/08, practices were awarded an average score of 96.8 per cent achievement against a set of evidence-based indicators which were developed to assess the quality of care provided to patients.

These indicators make up the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), introduced as part of the General Medical Services (GMS) contract in April 2004.

The QOF was revised in 2006/07, with higher thresholds required for the achievement of QOF points for individual indicators, the addition of new clinical areas, and a new maximum total of 1,000 points.

QOF points achieved by practices are used as the basis for QOF payments to practices as part of practice contracts. In 2007/08:

• practices in England achieved an average of 968.0 points, 96.8 per cent of the 1,000 available. This compares with an average achievement of 95.5 per cent in 2006/07.
• the average number of points achieved across practices in each of the 152 primary care trusts (PCTs) ranged from 891.1 points (89.1 per cent of points available) to 991.7 points (99.2 per cent of points available). This compares with a range of 858.6 points (85.9 per cent of points available) to 986.4 points (98.6 per cent) of points available in 2006/07.
• The number of GP practices achieving the maximum score of 1,000 points was 623 (7.5 per cent). This compares with 5.1 per cent of practices in 2006/07.

The QOF was introduced as part of the new primary care contracting arrangements to reward practices for the quality of their services. Practices take part voluntarily and the scheme awards points for: specific aspects of clinical care, how well the practice is organised, the patient experience and the extra services the offered by the practice such as child health and maternity services.

As a practice achieves more QOF points and provides more services, the payments to the practice will increase.

The NHS Information Centre's chief executive Tim Straughan said: “QOF is a mechanism for rewarding practices for the quality of care they provide to patients. By putting the results of every practice online, The NHS Information Centre is working to make more information about primary care services easily available to patients and the public.”

A summary bulletin reporting the statistics for England, spreadsheets of detailed data tables, and a practice level online database are available at qof

ENDS

1. The NHS Information Centre (The NHS IC) is England's authoritative, independent source of health and social care information. It works with more than 300 health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS Information Centre also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
2. . QOF was introduced as part of the new primary care contracting arrangements in April 2004. Participation by practices is voluntary though participation rates are high.
3. For media enquiries please contact:

• Sarah.Dahlgren@ic.nhs.uk 0113 254 7272
• Kristina.Fox@ic.nhs.uk 0113254 7120