INBOX
From: Caroline Molloy Subject: A single budget for the NHS and social care – Barker Commission
It’s not quite correct to say that ‘the commission rejected extending NHS charges, with the exception of prescription charges’.
From: Sara Subject: GPs should offer greater outpatient referral choice, says Monitor
I currently work for an IT company that deals with the NHS, but not primary care. The feedback we sometimes experience when selling our product to hospitals is that GPs are not always referring the patient correctly nor at the right time, which is having the initial impact on the NHS waiting lists.
In fact there are some charging suggestions that would set very worrying precedents hidden in the report. See analysis here: tinyurl. com/Barker-Comm-OD
From: Susan Nicholas Subject: Struggling London GP practices get short-term MPIG funding reprieve
I believe that you should look at GPs providing their own out-of- hours services as part of their contract, as they used to do. The red herring of having to run a surgery after an on-call night is quite frankly poor planning of rotas.
If GP surgeries worked out the surgery times to cover more hours, it’s no more difficult than doing off-duty rotas for a ward!
For example, a doctor on-call overnight could have the following day off, and cover an afternoon / evening surgery the next day. Of course they could also do it and cover seven days a week with their days off during the week not every weekend. It’s not rocket science and would bring primary care into line with other service provision!
Until GPs have their own clear pathway and clinical guidance that is much more clear-cut, the waiting lists are just going to get longer. As far as the GP is concerned, upon referring the patient (as far as the pathway is concerned) it is job done and payment in the bank. It is then up to the over-exhausted (not in the literal sense) consultants and nurses to deal with patients that are not surgically ready and having to refer back.
In the long term, the only person that is being overlooked is the patient, who is never really consulted regarding their own pathway as there is no real guidance for them.
I think the ‘patience’ with GPs is slowly running out. The public and some of our GPs should be taken back to the basics of a family doctor and what ‘care’ and ‘following correct clinical protocol’ is. It should be back to basics and managed from the onset.
From: Cllr Robert Griffin, a hospital PLACE inspector Subject: NHS 111
Editor’s note: National Health Executive reported in August on NHS England’s update on its Urgent and Emergency Care
national health executive Sep/Oct 14 | 17
Review, which included a number of planned improvements to the NHS 111 service and standards. It prompted Cllr Griffin to contact us with this report following a full busy shift he spent with Harmoni Bristol in December 2013, and what he hopes has changed since then. This is an extract from a longer letter (available at the NHE website):
My impression was that a truly qualified and dedicated staff performed very well, with no calls ever waiting. A doctor was always available on each shift. Many health problems were totally resolved by them, with possible emergencies passed by touchscreen to the ambulance service.
At that point, no dental cover was available over the weekend, minor injury units were available but no opening hours or capability could be displayed on the screen, and GP appointments could not be arranged electronically. I hope that [by now], these issues should have been addressed.
Sarah-Jane Graham, regional director for Harmoni owner Care UK, responded: “We were very
pleased to welcome Cllr Griffin to our call centre and delighted he had so many positive things to say about his experience. Since his visit, almost a year ago now, the local NHS 111 service has evolved and we have made improvements to it as we have seen how patient demand has developed.
“We have worked closely with our commissioning colleagues and dental providers to offer a more streamlined way of helping those requiring dental care when their dentist is closed. Similarly, we have worked closely with commissioners to ensure our health advisors have a better understanding of local minor injury units to ensure the patient is not incorrectly referred to a unit that cannot treat them.
“At the moment, the NHS 111 software system we use does not have the facility to book appointments directly with GPs during normal surgery opening times.
“We look forward to welcoming Cllr Griffin back to our call centre in the next few weeks when we will be happy to update him with the developments of the past year.”
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