Issue - meetings

1. Title of Item/Report

Scrutiny Review of Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care - Final Report of the Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee.

2. Record of the Decision

Consideration was given to a report of the Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee’s review of Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care.

It was explained that accessing the help and advice of General Practitioners (GPs) and other professionals, working in primary care general medical practices, within the UK, had long elicited a range of experiences and, indeed, opinions. Exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent knock-on effect to all health and care providers, the ability to make contact with and then use such services in the context of changed systems, working practices and workforce capacity had further sharpened views on this topic.

Conscious of the ongoing debate around these existing challenges, the Government released a new plan, in May 2023, to make it easier for patients to see their GP and, in collaboration with the NHS, had announced a major new primary care access recovery plan which aimed to facilitate faster, more convenient care. Regionally, the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) publicised a three-year programme bringing together the NHS and Councils with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to tackle long-standing inequalities and poor health, an investment which included extra support for the 'Deep End' network of GP practices in the region's most deprived communities, and steps to attract and retain more GPs to work in deprived areas, with extra training and support to encourage trainee doctors to build their careers in these practices.

Locally, this scrutiny topic had been proposed, back in February 2022 (though was unable to be undertaken during the 2022-2023 municipal year due to competing work programme demands). At that point, several related concerns were highlighted around processes involved in accessing general practice, including call wait times, the need to complete online questionnaires, and the initial requirement to tell call-handlers of very personal issues before receiving an appointment. Whilst it was acknowledged that work would have taken place in relation to this topic since early-2022, national and regional announcements regarding primary care (general practice) access demonstrated the ongoing high-profile nature of what was a key frontline health service.

The aim of the review was to:

• Understand the existing local ‘access to GPs’ landscape in the context of national / regional developments around this ongoing issue.

• Ascertain systems for accessing general practice services, the communication of these to the public, and how effective they were (including any variations across the Borough’s providers).

• Determine any areas which may assist in improving the experience of the local population, and practices themselves, when individuals wished to contact and / or access general practice services.

• Share any identified good practice within the Borough’s Primary Care Networks (PCNs).

Cabinet noted that the Committee had taken evidence from several relevant health bodies including the North East and North  ...  view the full decision text for item 19

Consideration was given to a report of the Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee’s review of Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care.

It was explained that accessing the help and advice of General Practitioners (GPs) and other professionals, working in primary care general medical practices, within the UK, had long elicited a range of experiences and, indeed, opinions. Exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent knock-on effect to all health and care providers, the ability to make contact with and then use such services in the context of changed systems, working practices and workforce capacity had further sharpened views on this topic.

Conscious of the ongoing debate around these existing challenges, the Government released a new plan, in May 2023, to make it easier for patients to see their GP and, in collaboration with the NHS, had announced a major new primary care access recovery plan which aimed to facilitate faster, more convenient care. Regionally, the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) publicised a three-year programme bringing together the NHS and Councils with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to tackle long-standing inequalities and poor health, an investment which included extra support for the 'Deep End' network of GP practices in the region's most deprived communities, and steps to attract and retain more GPs to work in deprived areas, with extra training and support to encourage trainee doctors to build their careers in these practices.

Locally, this scrutiny topic had been proposed, back in February 2022 (though was unable to be undertaken during the 2022-2023 municipal year due to competing work programme demands). At that point, several related concerns were highlighted around processes involved in accessing general practice, including call wait times, the need to complete online questionnaires, and the initial requirement to tell call-handlers of very personal issues before receiving an appointment. Whilst it was acknowledged that work would have taken place in relation to this topic since early-2022, national and regional announcements regarding primary care (general practice) access demonstrated the ongoing high-profile nature of what was a key frontline health service.

The aim of the review was to:

• Understand the existing local ‘access to GPs’ landscape in the context of national / regional developments around this ongoing issue.

• Ascertain systems for accessing general practice services, the communication of these to the public, and how effective they were (including any variations across the Borough’s providers).

• Determine any areas which may assist in improving the experience of the local population, and practices themselves, when individuals wished to contact and / or access general practice services.

• Share any identified good practice within the Borough’s Primary Care Networks (PCNs).

Cabinet noted that the Committee had taken evidence from several relevant health bodies including the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB), Cleveland Local Medical Committee (LMC), Hartlepool & Stockton Health (H&SH) GP Federation, and the Borough’s four Primary Care Networks (PCNs). To ascertain experiences of contacting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19