Background: Keele School of Medicine has an innovative new MBChB curriculum with a strong focus on primary care. Our students spend a minimum of 115 days in general practice.
Aim: To describe the investment by the school in the local primary care community.
Method: We collated data on list sizes of current undergraduate teaching practices, county populations and the investment in practices' teaching skills and physical premises.
Results: Between academic years 2010-11 and 2012-13 a total of 118 (annual mean of 99) practices contributed to teaching across six counties, providing care for 655 229 people. Forty-five per cent of 243 practices in Staffordshire and Shropshire teach. They serve 51% of the two counties' population. We have invested £1.62 million in the premises of 25 practices providing services for 18% of people in Staffordshire and Shropshire, £273 000 in a rural campus in Shropshire, and £99 387 in set-up grants. We have conducted 249 practice development visits. There were 540 attendances at tutor development sessions. We have had a total of 2300 hours of face-to-face contact with our practices.
Conclusion: The school has made a major investment in general practice in its area, contributing to the development of general practitioners and investing in practice premises.