GP practices in England will receive £40 million to give extra support to up to 300,000 vulnerable patients this winter, under a programme announced on Monday, 9 November.

The scheme, set out by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper, aims to spot patients at risk of becoming seriously ill before they reach crisis point, and to keep them out of hospital.

Primary care networks, the groups of neighbouring GP practices that work together, will be able to receive £126 for each eligible patient they support. Practices themselves will decide which of their patients are most at risk.

Who will get the extra support

The programme is aimed particularly at people with heart disease, frailty, emphysema and other forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD. Those are the conditions that most often lead to emergency admissions when cold weather arrives.

The extra help could include medication reviews, health checks, home assessments and nurse-led respiratory clinics. The government says the support will be tailored to each patient's needs, rather than offered as a single fixed package.

The figure of 300,000 is the maximum number of people the programme is designed to reach across England. It is not a guarantee that every eligible patient will be contacted, and there is no national application process for patients to join.

Where the money comes from

The £40 million is ring-fenced, which means it must be spent on this programme. However, reporting on the announcement says the money is being reallocated from existing general practice budgets for the 2026/27 financial year, rather than provided as entirely new funding.

That distinction matters for practices. The payment rewards proactive work with patients who might otherwise end up in hospital, but it does not add to the overall amount already promised to general practice this year.

Part of a wider winter plan

The GP programme sits alongside other winter measures. The Budget provided £190 million for the NHS in England to manage pressures over winter and the rest of the year, and £140 million was announced in October for 14 urgent care schemes.

Flu vaccination is also part of the winter effort. By 1 November 2026, more than 13.6 million people in England had received their flu vaccine, according to the government.

The Royal College of GPs has welcomed extra support for vulnerable patients while warning that general practice remains under sustained pressure. Winter is traditionally the hardest season for the NHS, with respiratory illness, falls and flu driving demand for both GP appointments and hospital beds.

Patients who are concerned about their health this winter should contact their GP practice in the usual way. The scheme applies in England only, as health is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.