NHS England has announced that it will begin the procurement process for a ‘significant number’ of alternative private medical services (APMS) contracts in the new year, and has already begun moves to promote the contracts with private healthcare providers.

According to Pulse magazine, the NHS England local area team will begin a process to procure ‘roughly ten’ APMS contracts in January 2014, and held its first ‘engagement event’ to inform potential providers last week.

The aim of the engagement event was to inform and engage with current and potential providers of Primary Medical Services about NHS London’s proposals to procure a significant number of standardised Alternative Primary Medical Services Contracts across the capital during 2013/14 and 2014/15.

Apparently, most of the contracts are being re-procured, as the existing APMS contract is coming to the end of the current contract term, but NHS London did not rule out new contracts being awarded.

NHS London said it would procure a significant number of standardised alternative primary medical services contracts across London during 2013/14 and 2014/15 and that it was introducing ‘standardised’ terms for all the contracts across the capital.

However, GP leaders have said that the contracts are a threat to GMS and PMS practices and did not provide long-term security for patients, particularly since a number of APMS practices have been closed down in recent years because they were deemed financially unviable.

Critics have pointed out that GP practices provide cost-effective delivery of service and that area teams should be ensuring that those providing the continuity of care and stability should be commissioned, not short-term APMS contracts that are expensive and do not provide long-term security for local populations.