GPs (General Practitioners), Explained in Plain English

By Len Burgess, Senior Care Advisor · Published 1 June 2026

What a GP actually does for an elderly relative, how the new 2026 GP contract changes things, and how access works in a care home, a nursing home, or at home.

The latest post in our Care Jargon Buster series covers the doctor at the centre of almost every older person's care. What a GP actually does for an elderly relative, how the new 2026 GP contract changes things, and how access works in a care home, a nursing home, or at home.


The GP is the doctor most families assume they already understand. They are the local family doctor, the person you ring when your relative is unwell, the practice you have known for years.


But for older people in particular, the GP's role is wider and more important than most families realise, and the system has changed significantly in 2026. The way you contact your GP, how home visits work, how care homes are connected to GP practices, and what a GP is expected to do for an older patient are all different from how they were even a year ago.


This post explains how GPs work for elderly people today, with particular attention to the three settings where CareAssura's readers are most likely to need them: in a care home, in a nursing home, and at home with home care support.


A quick orientation note. The "GPs" we are explaining here are the medical abbreviation for General Practitioners, the NHS family doctors and relevant for the care sector. If you are looking for something more specific outside of adult social care, this isn't the post for you.


Keep reading and get all the details.


What is a GP, and what do they actually do?

A General Practitioner is a fully qualified medical doctor who provides ongoing, personal medical care in the community. GPs are the first point of contact for almost all NHS care, and they are responsible for managing long-term health conditions, prescribing medication, referring patients to hospital specialists, signing off on disability and benefits forms, and acting as the central point of medical coordination for everyone on their list.


For older people, the GP's role is broader than just treating illness. A good GP for an elderly patient also:



Every NHS patient is allocated a named, accountable GP, who is statutorily responsible for overseeing their care. Patients aged 75 and over have additional rights to a named GP and to certain proactive checks.


How does the GP system work in 2026?

The 2026/27 GP Contract introduced significant changes to how patients access their GP. The headline changes most relevant to elderly patients and their families are:


Direct Clinical Assessment. When you contact your GP practice, you will usually now be triaged digitally (via the NHS App or the practice website) or by phone, and a GP, Advanced Clinical Practitioner, or other senior clinician will call you back first before deciding whether you need to be seen in person, by video, or at all.


Same-day response for clinically urgent cases. Under the 2026/27 Contract, if your need is judged clinically urgent, the practice must provide a response or treatment plan on the same day. Non-urgent cases should be seen within one week, or at the longer end, two weeks. Practices now publish performance data against these timeframes.


Stricter home visit criteria. GP home visits are now strictly reserved for patients who are genuinely housebound or whose medical condition would make travelling to the surgery harmful. Age alone is not a criterion.


PCN home visiting services. Many areas now have dedicated Primary Care Network (PCN) home-visiting services, often staffed by paramedics, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, and GPs, who provide proactive, same-day visits to housebound patients.


For people living in a care home or nursing home, the GP system works differently. Under the Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) framework, most recently updated in March 2026, every care home in England should be aligned to a named Primary Care Network, and every resident should have a named GP from a practice in that network. The headline commitment is a weekly home round, a regular planned visit to the home to review residents proactively, rather than waiting for someone to become unwell before they are seen.


How does the GP arrangement work in a care home or nursing home?

This is the area where families have the most questions, and where the system has changed most. In summary, every care home in England should now have the following in place:



This is a significant shift from how care home GP arrangements used to work. The newer model is designed to be proactive rather than reactive: catching changes in health earlier, reducing avoidable hospital admissions, and giving the care home a clear line of clinical support.


A few practical points families should know:



How does the GP arrangement work for someone living at home?

For an older person living at home with home care, the arrangement is more like the standard GP system, but with some specific things worth knowing.


The person should be registered with a local GP practice, ideally one that is easy for them and their carers to reach. They will have a named, accountable GP who is responsible for overseeing their care, although in practice they may see different doctors at the practice depending on availability.


Home visits are available for patients who are genuinely housebound or whose condition makes travelling to the surgery harmful. The route to request one is usually to call the practice early in the morning (most practices ask for visit requests before 10:30 am), explain the situation, and accept that the GP may want to call back first to assess. The new 2026 Contract reinforces that home visits are not for convenience or transport reasons; they are clinical decisions.


For older people who genuinely cannot travel, the dedicated PCN home visiting services are increasingly the route through which most home visits happen, with the visit carried out by a paramedic, ACP, or GP from the wider PCN team rather than the person's own GP practice. The visits are NHS-funded and free at the point of use.


Home care agencies should always know how to contact a service user's GP, and good agencies will proactively flag changes in health to the GP rather than waiting for an emergency. If you are choosing a home care agency, it is worth asking how they work with the service user's GP, how they document changes in health, and how they escalate concerns.


How does this apply to me?

These are the five questions families ask most often about GPs in elderly care.


1. How do I get my elderly relative the right GP support?

Start with the basics. Make sure they are registered with a GP practice, ideally one local to where they live, and that they know who their named, accountable GP is. If they are over 75, they have additional rights to proactive support and an annual health review. If they live in a care home, the home should align them with the practice within the aligned PCN, although they can keep an existing GP if they prefer.


Make sure their medical record is up to date, including all medications, all diagnoses, any allergies, and a current list of who else is involved in their care (specialists, district nurses, AHPs, social worker). For older people with dementia, also make sure the practice knows who has Power of Attorney and how to contact them.


Use the NHS App where possible, or ask a family member to use it on your relative's behalf with their permission. The App now handles appointments, repeat prescriptions, medical records, and messages between the patient and the practice. For older people who are less comfortable with technology, a family member with the right permissions can manage this for them.


2. Can my relative still have a GP home visit?

Yes, but the criteria are stricter than they used to be. A home visit is reserved for patients who are genuinely housebound (meaning they cannot leave the home without significant difficulty) or whose medical condition would be worsened by travelling to the surgery. Age alone is not a reason; transport difficulties alone are not a reason. The GP will assess the request and decide.


To request a visit, call the practice as early in the day as possible, ideally before 10:30 am. Be prepared to explain why your relative cannot come to the surgery and what specifically is wrong. The GP may call you or your relative back to triage before deciding whether to visit, offer a phone or video consultation, or arrange a visit from the PCN home visiting team.


Genuinely urgent cases should be seen the same day under the new 2026 Contract rules.


3. What is the difference between a GP and a care home's clinical lead?

In a care home aligned with the EHCH framework, the clinical lead is the person at the GP practice who takes overall responsibility for the care of residents in that home. This is usually a GP, but can also be an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) or another experienced clinician with the right competencies.


A resident's named GP is the doctor specifically responsible for that resident's care. In most cases, the clinical lead and the resident's named GP are different people, working in the same practice. The named GP will know the resident's medical history and ongoing care; the clinical lead provides overall leadership and continuity for the home.


You can ask the home to tell you both who the clinical lead is and who your relative's named GP is. You should be able to get both names easily.


4. How do I raise a concern about my relative's medical care?

There are several routes, depending on the seriousness and the situation. For day-to-day concerns, raise them with the named GP or the practice manager directly. For care home residents, also raise them with the registered care home manager, who should escalate them via the clinical lead.


If you cannot get a satisfactory response from the practice itself, you can contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at the relevant NHS organisation, or escalate through the NHS Complaints Procedure, which is free and structured. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is the final escalation point for unresolved NHS complaints.


For care home residents specifically, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) also wants to hear about concerns that suggest a wider problem with how a care home is being run, including how it works with its GP team.


5. Will my relative's GP still see them if they move to a care home?

Possibly, but it depends. If the new care home is within the geographical area covered by their existing GP practice, they can stay registered. If the home is outside that area, they will usually need to register with a new practice, ideally the one aligned to the home's PCN under the EHCH framework, which gives them access to the weekly home round and the proactive care that comes with it.


Even where the existing practice is geographically possible, it is worth considering whether it can realistically support the level of care home your relative now needs. Some practices are very experienced in care home work, and others are much less so. Most families find that switching to the aligned practice gives their relative better continuity of care, even if it means leaving a long-standing GP.


The takeaway

The GP remains the central point of medical care for almost every older person, whether they live at home, in a home care arrangement, or in a care home. The 2026/27 GP Contract has changed the way you contact a GP, how home visits work, and how care homes are connected to GP practices, and the Enhanced Health in Care Homes framework is now the standard model for how care home residents get medical support.


Three practical takeaways. Make sure your relative knows who their named GP is, particularly if they are in a care home aligned with a PCN. Use digital channels where possible, including the NHS App, because that is now how the system is built to work. And ask the right questions of any care home you are considering: which PCN they are aligned to, who the clinical lead is, how the weekly home round works, and how they escalate concerns.


Our funding calculator can show you how the care your relative receives fits alongside other costs and NHS funding routes. Our wider Jargon Buster series explains every term you will come across, including detailed guides to Allied Health Professionals, the Multidisciplinary Team, and the Enhanced Health in Care Homes framework.


This article is for general guidance only and reflects how General Practitioner services work in England as of 2026. The 2026/27 GP Contract and the March 2026 update to the Enhanced Health in Care Homes framework have changed the way care is delivered, and arrangements vary between local areas. For specific advice on your relative's care, contact their GP practice, the registered manager of their care home, or your local NHS organisation.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How do I register my relative with a new GP, and can I do it on their behalf?

You can register at any GP practice that accepts new patients in the area where the person lives. Registration is now usually done online, through the practice website or the NHS App, although paper forms are still accepted. Practices cannot refuse to register someone on the grounds of age, health condition, or ability to attend in person, although they can refuse if the person lives outside the practice's catchment area or if the practice has formally closed its list to new patients. You can complete the registration on your relative's behalf with their permission. If your relative lacks the mental capacity to consent (for example, because of advanced dementia), the person with Power of Attorney for health and welfare can act for them. If no Power of Attorney is in place, the practice should still register the person on the basis of best interests, but may ask additional questions. If you cannot find a practice with capacity in your relative's area, your local NHS organisation has a duty to allocate one to them.

What is a Primary Care Network (PCN) and why does it matter for my relative?

A Primary Care Network is a group of local GP practices that work together to provide a wider range of services than any single practice could on its own. Most PCNs cover a population of 30,000 to 50,000 people and include several practices, plus other roles like clinical pharmacists, paramedics, social prescribers, and physiotherapists working across the network. PCNs matter for older people for two specific reasons. First, under the Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) framework, every care home in England is aligned to a named PCN, and the PCN takes shared responsibility for residents' medical care. Second, many of the dedicated home visiting services for housebound patients are now delivered at the PCN level rather than by individual practices. You can find out which PCN your relative's GP practice belongs to by asking the practice directly or by checking the NHS website.

Can my relative see the same GP every time, or do they get a different one each visit?

In theory, yes; in practice, it depends. Every NHS patient has a named, accountable GP who is statutorily responsible for overseeing their care, and patients aged 75 and over have additional rights to this named GP relationship. However, in most modern practices, the day-to-day reality is that you may see different doctors and other clinicians depending on availability, urgency, and the type of appointment. If continuity of care matters to your relative (which it often does for older people with multiple long-term conditions), you can specifically request appointments with their named GP, and practices should accommodate this where possible. You may have to be flexible about timing to do so. For complex ongoing care like dementia or end-of-life support, it is worth asking the practice manager directly about how continuity will be managed, because some practices have specific arrangements (such as named GP "buddy" pairs) to maintain it.

What is the NHS App, and how can it help me manage my relative's GP care?

The NHS App is the main digital channel for accessing GP services in England in 2026. Through it, you can book and cancel appointments, request and manage repeat prescriptions, view medical records and test results, send messages to the practice, complete forms, and access vaccination records. For older people who are comfortable with smartphones, it is often the fastest way to interact with their practice. For older people who are not, a family member can be set up with Proxy Access, allowing them to use their own NHS App to manage their relative's care on the relative's behalf. This requires the relative's consent (or appropriate Power of Attorney), and the practice will need to verify identity before granting access. Proxy access can make an enormous practical difference for families looking after a parent who lives alone or in a care home, because you can request prescriptions, manage appointments, and see results without having to go through the practice phone line.

What should a good care home tell me about its GP arrangements?

A good care home should be able to tell you, confidently and in plain English: which Primary Care Network it is aligned with, the name of the GP practice that takes lead clinical responsibility for the home, who the clinical lead is, how often the weekly home round happens and which residents are reviewed, how the home escalates urgent concerns (and whether they use a structured handover like SBAR), how they involve families in care planning, and what happens out of hours or in an emergency. If the home cannot answer these questions clearly, or if their answers are vague, that is a real warning sign. A well-run home will treat the GP arrangement as one of the most important aspects of resident care, and they will be proud to explain how it works. The home's most recent CQC inspection report also usually comments on how it works with primary care services, and it is worth reading that as part of your assessment.