Independent Nurse: DoH rates nurses' contribution equal to GPs'.

The DoH now rates nurses' contribution to primary care as equal to that of GPs, Independent Nurse can reveal.

Academics had complained that the government's definition of under-doctored areas was producing misleading results by ignoring the role of nurses.

But a spokesman confirmed that the DoH now used a definition which valued the two professions equally.

To choose sites for the new practices established as part of the Equitable Access to Primary Medical Care procurement, the department used a formula that considered capacity, health outcomes and patient satisfaction.

The capacity element, worth 60 per cent of a PCT's score, allocated …