GP Chaplaincy Update – Sarah Gough
There have been significant developments in the field of GP / Primary Care Chaplaincy in recent months. Those of you with knowledge of the way funding works in the Primary Care arena will know about the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This scheme provides funding for a number of additional roles (e.g. physios, social prescribers, health & wellbeing coaches, physician associates etc.) that GPs and their Primary Care Networks (PCNs) can select from to create teams tailored to suit the needs of their specific patient demographic.
A small number of GPs that we work with have chosen to use the ARRS funding route to appoint Primary Care Chaplains, using either a modified Social Prescriber or Health & Wellbeing Coach job description. This ‘workaround’ is possible, but not ideal.
A few months ago, Ross Bryson, on behalf of ACGP, submitted evidence to the formal NHS consultation process about the staffing needs of the 10-year plan and wrote to Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, providing evidence of the scale and impact of Primary Care Chaplaincy and reinforcing this with the fact that some GPs/PCNs had already decided to appoint Chaplains using this ‘workaround’ approach with ARRS funding.
This prompted a question in the House of Lords from The Rt Hon Lord Hunt of Kings Heath OBE, asking if Primary Care Chaplaincy would become one of the additional roles from which GPs/PCNs could choose to spend their ARRS funds.
The response came from Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, who stated:
“The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) provides funding for a number of additional roles to help increase capacity in general practice, enabling primary care networks (PCNs) to create bespoke teams. Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP contract consultation, we are increasing flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), enabling PCNs to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, including primary care chaplains, where agreed with the commissioner.” (See the full House of Lords Daily Report here - page 24)
It is hard to state the significance of this statement! It is an important landmark in the journey of recognition of Chaplaincy in General Practice, and an answer to longstanding prayers. It has the potential to considerably increase the number of Chaplains working in Primary Care as awareness of the role increases and there is a simple route to fund it.
We have already taken the next step with this monumental milestone as we are looking to recruit a new Primary Care Chaplain in our Tewkesbury service. Although the 2026/27 GP contracts have yet to be agreed, Mythe Medical Practice are keen to ‘blaze a trail’ and advertise the role as the first Primary Care Chaplain appointed through the ARRS funding route. We are in the middle of the recruitment process for this post, with interviews scheduled for 1st June, but are still waiting for approval from the PCN commissioner on the job title (the back-up option will be to return to the Health & Wellbeing Coach workaround). Please do be praying for a positive decision from the commissioner and that God helps us identify the right person for the job. We have received some encouraging applications!
In addition to this, we would value continuing prayers for the work we are doing:
Pray that the Lord will strengthen and encourage our Primary Care Chaplains, as they rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and equip them as they support their patients.
Pray for funding for a new Chaplain in Tewkesbury (in addition to the one we are currently recruiting for) as the service there is extremely busy and the team are in need of additional support.
Pray as we make decisions about the training and events we provide for Primary Care Chaplains. We are exploring ways to revamp our existing training courses plus identify helpful CPD topics. We have launched a book group and, more recently, a Team Leaders’ Network.
Pray for discernment about our next national conference. We need to make decisions about when, where and what the focus and audience should be.
Pray that our decision to work with an external fundraising consultant will result in some much-needed financial support. We are seeing increasing interest in Primary Care Chaplaincy, and that is before the House of Lords decision, and need to increase our administrative capacity to keep pace with this.