Millions of pounds are to be pumped into general practice to implement a promised government rescue plan, it was announced yesterday.

Practices facing the greatest patient pressures will get “resilience” support from a £40 million programme, NHS England announced.

This will include practical help for workforce issues together with access to specialist support for HR, IT, staffing and practice management.

There will also be an indemnity support scheme to peg the cost to practices of rising fees.

Some £16 million of the £40 million resilience fund is being released. A general practice development programme – providing training and development support – is also to get under way. It will cost £30 million over three years.

There will also be steps to implement promised reductions in red-tape. These include telling hospitals to cease asking GPs for re-referrals when patients do not attend out-patients.

There were also details of a new multi-speciality community provider (MCP) voluntary contract. This is intended to allow a single organisation to hold the contract for a range of services, including primary, community and mental health.

NHS England director of primary care Dr Arvind Madan said: “Three months on from the launch of the General Practice Forward View, we’re now getting on with implementing these plans.

“We understand the pressure on GP practices and today’s announcement shows how we’re getting on with immediate practical steps to deliver GPs much-needed support.”

Dr Brian Balmer, a GP executive member of the British Medical Association, said it was concerned about the risks to practices that got involved in MCP.

Another BMA GP representative Dr Krishna Kasaranen said the announcements were “encouraging.”

He said: “This new resilience fund does significantly expand the resources available to struggling practices and it appears to have learnt some of the lessons from last year’s failed vulnerable practice scheme which was riddled with delay and bureaucracy. However, we will be scrutinising the detail of this proposal as it is vital that the funding is provided in a flexible manner and is streamlined to avoid an exhausting bidding process.

“We also must ensure that practices are comfortable in seeking support, and do not fear reprisal from breach of notice orders, which would perversely deter those that most need assistance.”

Royal College of GPs chair Dr Maureen Baker said: “Our immediate priority must be to make sure that the money from the resilience programme is spent in the right way and delivers practical help to practices – and their patients – fast.

“It’s clear there is a long way to go in order to get GPs and their teams the support and resources needed to deliver 90% of all NHS patient contacts in a safe and sustainable way. But the developments announced today promise to make a tangible impact on general practice, and the care we can provide to our patients.”