Agenda item

Progress report for the previously completed Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care review.

Consideration was given to the assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Committee’s previously completed review of Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care.

Presented by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) Head of Commissioning – Neighbourhood Health South, and supported by the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Director of Public Health, this was the second progress update following the Committee’s agreement of the Action Plan in July 2024.  Developments regarding those outstanding actions linked to the Committee’s recommendations were highlighted as follows:

·       Recommendation 1 (All relevant health bodies (North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB), Cleveland Local Medical Committee (CLMC), Hartlepool & Stockton Health GP Federation (H&SH), NHS Trusts, and general practices) engage regularly and constructively around the issues raised as part of this review to ensure that patients are approaching / receiving care from the most appropriate services based on need): Whilst the previous Stockton Place-Based Committee had now been stood down and replaced with new governance arrangements (following a requirement for the NENC ICB to reduce running costs), there continued to be regular and constructive engagement between system partners in relation to general practice issues – this included the progression of temporary list closures (Melrose Surgery and Dr Rasool), and an in-hours closure to allow staff to attend a colleague’s funeral (Densham Surgery).  A central General Practice, Pharmacy and Optometry Team had also been formed (hosted by the ICBs Newcastle / Gateshead Neighbourhood Health Team) – this would support the implementation of consistent and timely processes in respect of general practice issues and responses to contractual changes which were required to be reviewed, approved and enacted.

Regarding the action which sought to improve links between local Planning Services functions, SBC Public Health and the NENC ICB in terms of new housing developments and the potential impact of these in relation to health service demand / pressures, the Tees Valley Strategic Estates Group continued to be held on a bi-monthly basis (chaired by the ICBs Strategic Head of Estates), with good attendance from a range of system partners (the new requirement to co-produce a ‘Neighbourhood Health’ plan by the 28 May 2026 was also highlighted).  Specific NENC ICB links to both SBC Public Health and SBC Planning Services were noted, with the NENC ICB also part of the Tees Valley Care and Innovation Zone (TVCHIZ) Estates & Facilities Workstream which brought partners together to maximise the use of current assets for the delivery of Neighbourhood Care services and identify any gaps where investment may be required for new builds.

·       Recommendation 2 (All relevant health bodies continue efforts to increase public / patient understanding about accessing the most appropriate services (including in the context of the Pharmacy First initiative), using all available communication mechanisms (both print and digital) and links through local community networks (e.g. community partnerships), to ensure key messages are reinforced): The NENC ICB continued to have a strong social media presence, and supported practices and wider partners by sharing key messages and branding that could be further disseminated.  Examples of local practices promoting services and other opportunities for patients to get help were also provided.

Targeted support continued to be offered to four practices in relation to the pursuit of increasing the number of patients (original target 95%) with online accounts enabled with full prospective access.  Whilst a minimum level was not written into the GP contract (as the contract implied all patients should have online access unless exclusions applied), the percentage of online accounts had increased for all four practices since the previous update in September 2025, though the Riverside Medical Practice remained low (30.6%) – a likely result of last year’s merger with the Arrival Medical Practice whose offer specialised on support for asylum seekers.

·       Recommendation 3 (Councillors and local MPs be supported in helping with these communication messages as leaders in their communities (as well as their role in raising concerns expressed by the community) and encourage positive feedback as well as concerns (to help share and spread learning and best practice): As per recommendation 2 above, the NENC ICB continued to have a strong social media presence, and supported practices and wider partners with key messaging on websites and social media channels.  Regarding ‘Did Not Attends’ (DNAs), practices continued to promote the importance of keeping or cancelling appointments, with DNA rates in the Borough (3.7% for the last five months) similar to the Tees Valley position (3.83% in February 2026).

GP-related information continued to be made available to Councillors / MPs to share, and NHS messaging was often relayed by the SBC and the Community Wellbeing Champions.

·       Recommendation 6 (All general practices move towards providing the full use of digital telephony capabilities (including call-back functionality), with appropriate staff in place to support these arrangements): As previously reported, good progress had been made around cloud-based telephony (CBT) systems, with all practices now having this function (it was confirmed that issues had now been resolved for the three practices (Marsh House Medical Centre, Kingsway Medical Centre, and Dr Rasool) which had submitted ‘exceptional circumstances’ in relation to his provision).

·       Recommendation 11 (NENC ICB consider its complaint / compliment reporting mechanisms so future data can be provided at a local general practice level): All local practices had the link to the ‘you and your GP practice charter’ (a new element within the latest GP contract) on their websites and informed patients how to submit feedback – the ability to submit feedback was also available on the NENC ICB website and feedback received by the ICB was reported through the Tees Valley Quality and Variation Group and up through the NENC ICBs Primary Care Sub-Committee.  Two pieces of feedback had been received to date – one positive (Elm Tree Medical Centre), and the other (Yarm Medical Practice) leading to improved processes for parents seeking to access an appointment for their child.

The Committee was reminded that the topic of access to GPs remained an evolving area and that the NENC ICB would continue to work with practices to ensure contractual requirements were being met, and support them and patients to deliver / use available services.

Thanking the NENC ICB for another comprehensive update, Members spoke of personal challenges in accessing their digital health records (e.g. via the NHS and other apps) and the need for this to be as simple as possible.  Subsequent discussion covered the inability for information entered on the NHS app to be deleted (anything queried by the patient had to be addressed through an additional entry, not the removal / amendment of a previous record).

With reference to those practices receiving support around the provision of online accounts with full prospective access, the Committee felt the public would be surprised to see Yarm Medical Practice lagging behind others given the area may be viewed as being more IT-literate (though also pointed out the challenges often faced by communities with a larger population of older people in relation to digital platforms).  The NENC ICB commented that recent changes within the practice may account for its performance and that it would continue to be supported to increase numbers.  Members drew attention to their awareness of positive developments involving the practice which had seen patient satisfaction increase.

Given one recommendation still had associated actions that were yet to be deemed ‘fully achieved’, it was agreed that a further update on this would be provided to the Committee in around six months.

AGREED that the Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care progress update be noted and the assessments for progress be confirmed as stated.