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GP Federations

GP Federations have been established in Northern Ireland with two main aims –

  • To support and protect GP Practices.
  • To help deliver the transformation agenda in Health and Social Care.

The creation of the federation model has been led and funded by GPs themselves.

There are currently 17 fully incorporated GP Federations covering all areas of Northern Ireland, all of which are owned entirely by GPs.

GP Federations aim to provide better care, delivered in a more responsive way and closer to home, for patients registered on the lists of practices within the Federation. The focus is on working across the local health and social care community, in collaboration with a wide number of agencies, to design and implement innovative healthcare strategies and ways of delivering high quality care.

Key components of Federations in Northern Ireland:

  • They could provide continuing professional development for GPs.
  • They could assist in the recruitment and retention of GPs.
  • An average size of a GP Federation is approximately 100,000 patients with 17 practices.
  • Each Federation has been established as a Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee in the not for profit sector.
  • As of June 2016 there are 17 Federations incorporated, covering 1.8 million patient population with virtually 100% participation from GP Practices.
  • Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that has a unified model of Federations governed by a unified Members Agreement covering its entire population.

More useful information

BMA – GP Federations to manage transfer of services