The words to use
- GP partnership
- The usual way practices are run: GP partners own the business, hold the NHS contract, employ staff and share the income.
- Global sum
- The core GMS payment to a practice, set per registered patient and weighted for factors such as age and need (the Carr-Hill formula).
- Primary care network (PCN)
- A group of neighbouring practices, set up from 2019, that shares staff and services across a larger population.
- Pharmacy First
- An NHS service letting community pharmacists assess and treat common conditions without a GP appointment: seven as of May 2026, expanding from autumn 2026.
- Continuity of care
- Seeing the same clinician over time. It is linked with fewer admissions and lower mortality, and the 2026/27 contract asks practices to prioritise it.
- Safety-netting
- Telling a patient what to watch for, what to do if it happens and when to come back, so a problem that was missed or is still developing is caught early.
- Triage
- Sorting requests by clinical need rather than order of arrival, so urgent problems are seen first and others go to the right professional.
