GPs to offer 300,000 patients extra support to ease winter strain on NHS

£40m scheme in England aims to keep most vulnerable people well at home and avoid unnecessary hospital stays

Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients in England are to receive extra support from their GP as part of a £40m drive aimed at keeping them out of hospital this winter.

As the NHS gears up for the pressures of the coming months, family doctors will offer 300,000 people with frailty and long-term conditions health checks, medication reviews and respiratory tests designed to prevent avoidable hospital admissions.

Funded by cash reallocated from existing GP budgets for 2026-27, the scheme will allow surgeries to identify and provide extra care to the patients they believe are most at risk of becoming seriously unwell in the winter.