Suffolk GP Federation is a group of 61 independent GP practices in Suffolk with a total registered population of 540,000. It is at present a registered community interest company, but is considering becoming one large partnership.
Dr Paul Driscoll is its chairman. It won a £10 million contract to provide a full community service for patients with diabetes for five years from April 2014. It offers diabetes screening, training and care for patients with a dedicated helpline and mobile dietetic, podiatry and antenatal clinics in the GP surgeries. It has helped to launch the Suffolk GP Fellowship scheme, which offers trainees a twelve month contract with training opportunities. It is intended to boost recruitment of GPs in the county.
It runs a service called Suffolk GP+ which offers appointments to patients on bank holidays and out of hours. Patients attending the A&E department at Ipswich Hospital and a West Suffolk Hospital, who are assessed as have minor ailments are offered an appointment with the service, which has access to their GP record. £2 million from the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund finances the service.