Gestor bibliográfico Crisis y Salud

General practices in England are currently facing possibly their most challenging financial circumstances since the NHS was founded in 1948.1 GPs and their primary care teams have traditionally been patients’ point of first contact with the NHS. Primary care teams are responsible for providing access to health services for all residents of England and dealing with most of the acute medical problems patients present with, as well as providing long-term care for people with chronic diseases. They also provide a wide range of systematic and opportunistic preventive and health promotion activities, such as smoking cessation services, NHS Health Checks, and screening for alcohol misuse. A strong primary care sector has allowed the NHS to make efficient use of resources, through the gatekeeping role that GPs have in controlling access to specialist services, and through the wide range of medical, social, and psychological problems that GPs and their teams manage through a mix of person-based and population-centred care.