Agenda item

This report and attached action plan outline the progress made in implementing the 14 recommendations from the Primary Care (PC) Access Task Group report of June 2023.

Discussion:

The Public Health Consultant introduced the report which provided an update on the actions taken in implementing the 14 recommendations from the GP Access Task Group report that was approved by the Cabinet in June 2023. He confirmed that the Task Group had not been renamed and that this was an error in the report.  The Director of Primary Care and Community (out of hospital) Care also provided an update on the numbers of GPs in Medway, confirming there were 13 more GPs than last year, which equated to 6 full time equivalents (FTE). He added that in terms of the wider primary care workforce, there were an additional 146 FTE staff. NHS Kent and Medway’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer was also in attendance.

Members then asked a number of questions and comments, which included:

·        Medway specific actions – whilst recognising this was a national issue, it was asked what was being done to address the specific challenges acute to Medway, such as the impact of its proximity to London. In response, the representatives from NHS Kent and Medway explained that there was a Primary Care Strategy in place which set out the ambitions for primary care as a whole, including general practice. It was critical to fully understand population need and then develop and grow primary care services to meet those needs. In addition, the wider roles in primary care were key. Often patients had a default position to see a GP when in fact, in a number of circumstances, there were often other clinicians within the workforce that was better suited to meet the patient’s need and technology and training needed to be developed to support correct and effective signposting.  In terms of attracting GPs to work in Medway, the point was made in making Medway an attractive place to work, giving opportunities for career growth and development but also working with the local authority to ensure there is the suitable housing, school places etc to assist in attracting those individuals to settle in Medway. Reference was also made to the GP Attraction Package which had been in place and provided a financial incentive to GPs who stayed working in Medway for a certain length of time.

·        GP numbers – reference was made to the latest GP figures and that this was still less than the numbers working in Medway in 2017.

·        Impact – reference was made to the appendix and the benefit of it demonstrating the actions taken from the recommendations made but that there was little data about the impact the actions were having and it was asked if this could be included in future reports.

·        eConsult – reference was made to eConsult and how expensive it was for GP practices to buy in to.  The representatives of NHS Kent and Medway were unable to comment on the cost but explained that, if used effectively, it was a valuable tool for GP practices in supporting the front door and triaging patients.

Decision:

The Committee noted the updates and progress achieved in implementing the recommendations set out in the GP Access Task Group June 2023 report and requested that the Committee received future reports with a focus on GP access and how more primary care staff could be attracted to the Medway workforce.