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Government announces new plan to ‘make it easier to see GPs’
The Government has announced plans to enable patients to be able to contact their general practice more easily and quickly, and find out exactly how their request will be handled on the day they call. The announcement is part of a major multi-million pound ‘overhaul of primary care’. Practices across England will be given £240 million this year to embrace the latest technology, replacing old analogue phones with modern systems so patients do not get engaged tones, and rolling out easy-to-use online tools to ensure patients get the care they need as soon as possible. The Government says that this will mean that, when patients contact their practice online or over the phone, they will know on the day they make contact how their query will be managed, rather than being told to call back later. If their need is urgent, they will be assessed and given appointments on the same day. If it is not urgent, appointments should be offered within two weeks, or patients will be referred to NHS 111 or a local pharmacy.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, has also announced a major expansion of the role of receptionists to become expert ‘care navigators’, whose job will be to gather information, to make sure patients are directed to the most suitable healthcare professional and to simplify and streamline the process. Working with NHS England the Government will fund 6,500 care navigator training places – that is one member of staff per practice who can then pass on the training to colleagues. Care navigators will help assess, prioritise, respond and assist. They will help make sure those who want to see a named GP or preferred member of staff can do so while those who are happy to see a duty doctor can also do so. They will direct patients to
“The plan outlines some encouraging initiatives,
other professionals within the general practice or other medical professionals such as community pharmacists who can best meet the needs of the patients. The Government claims that successful care navigation can help direct 40% of requests more effectively and speed up appointments for those who need them. Responding to details of NHS England’s GP
access recovery, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs and our teams want to deliver safe, timely and appropriate care for our patients, and we get as frustrated as they do when they struggle to access our services. As such, whatever can be done to improve patients’ access to our services should be explored. “When patients are struggling to make appointments, it is not the fault of overstretched GP teams who are working flat-out in the most difficult of circumstances. GPs and our teams are delivering millions more appointments than before the pandemic, with almost half offered on the same day they are booked, but with 852 fewer GPs compared to 2019.
many of which the College has called for: empowering patients to self-refer directly for some conditions, investment into telephony and training more care navigators, and further efforts to cut bureaucracy to allow GPs to spend more time with patients are all welcome. “We’re also pleased to see there will be a consultation on how giving our pharmacist colleagues greater prescribing powers for minor illnesses could be implemented safely, and in a joined-up way. GPs work closely with pharmacists, often as part of the same practice team, and they already do important work, such as giving advice on minor ailments and undertaking medication reviews, that frees up GPs’ time for patients with complex needs. “However, while all these initiatives are positive steps, none are the silver bullet that we desperately need to address the intense workload and workforce pressures GPs and their teams are working under; we need thousands more GPs to be able to use these measures effectively to provide the services patients need. The public need to be aware of what’s achievable. Change is not going to happen overnight. Politicians think that promising faster access will improve services and win votes, but many practices are already struggling for lack of GPs and other clinical staff, particularly in communities with large numbers of patients with complex needs and disproportionate health inequalities. “The only true solution is to increase numbers of fully-qualified, full-time equivalent GPs, both in the short and long term by training and retaining them, and we look to the long-awaited NHS workforce plan with anticipation, to see how this will be achieved.”
Surgeons call for NHS workforce plan as waiting list hits over 7.3m
Surgeons are calling on the Government to “get on and publish” the highly anticipated NHS workforce plan. The vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Mr Tim Mitchell, has said making a proper dent in waiting lists will remain difficult without the plan. The latest NHS performance data shows
the waiting list for NHS consultant-led hospital treatment has grown again to a record high of over 7.3 million. There were 7,331,974 people on the waiting list at the end of March 2023. The target to eliminate
routine elective waits of over 78 weeks by April 2023 has also been missed. Despite the huge efforts of NHS staff to reduce these waits, the data shows 10,737 patients waiting more than 78 weeks in March 2023. This was down from a high of 124,911 in September 2021. Patients waiting for operations, such as hip and knee replacements, and general surgeries such as gallbladder removals and hernia repairs, are still waiting the longest. Commenting on the figures, Mr Tim Mitchell, said: “With the overall waiting list at a record high of 7.3 million, workforce is the word on everyone’s
lips at the moment. “NHS staff are doing the very best they can
to cut the waiting list but until there is a clear workforce plan in place to deal with the chronic staff vacancies that impede the day-to-day running of the NHS, the situation remains very difficult. “The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has made cutting waiting times one of his five key pledges, but the much promised and anticipated workforce plan, which will set the course to putting a proper dent in waiting lists, has yet to materialise. It’s time for the Government to get on and publish the plan.”
June 2023 I
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