Findings from Healthwatch Assembly event about GP services - March 2023

Here is a summary of the key points discussed:

Good access

• Getting an appointment: Participants noted the increasing difficulty patients face in securing appointments, despite the message that more appointments are available.
• Initial contact: The importance of patients' first contact with their GP practice was highlighted. Options such as telephone, digital, and face-to-face appointments were suggested to ensure accessibility and appropriate triaging.
• Improving access: Recommendations included supporting patients in using digital access apps, promoting the use of the NHS app for prescription orders, providing clear information about care pathways, and offering various ways to make initial contact.

Good coordination and continuity of care

• Seeing the same GP: Attendees expressed the desire for continuity by seeing the same doctor for appointments to avoid repeating medical history.
• Challenges in continuity: Some practices had high turnover rates and part-time doctors, making it difficult for patients to see their preferred doctor.
• Shared records: Seamless record sharing across organisations was emphasized, reducing the need for patients to repeat their medical history.

What does prevention mean to you?

• Effective signposting: GP practices should provide clear guidance on other services available to promote wellness.
• Broader perspective: Keeping well should extend beyond the NHS, with networks and services outside the healthcare system playing a role.
• Health checks: Regular blood pressure and other health checks were seen as valuable in identifying undiagnosed health issues.
• Sharing good practices: Different GP practices should share their approaches to prevention, such as allocating specific GPs for home visits to vulnerable patients.
• Mental health and early intervention: Focus on mental health, social isolation, and educating about prevention, e.g., diabetes awareness in schools.
• Social prescribing: Expanding social prescribing beyond primary care settings, including A&E.
• Several examples were shared to illustrate actions taken towards prevention, such as community health events, diabetes champions programs, and social prescribing initiatives linking with diabetes support groups.

Conclusions

• Overall, the discussions highlighted the importance of improving access to appointments, enhancing coordination and continuity of care, and emphasizing prevention and wellness beyond the healthcare system. The factors were highlighted as being important to good GP care:

• Efficient and accessible first contact and triaging when patients initially make an appointment with their GP surgery. Allowing for different methods of booking an appointment, be it via phone, online, or in person.
• Transparency with regard to patient care and operation of the practice. This would relate to patients having a better understanding of their regular GP’s schedule, and options available to them should their regular GP be unavailable.
• Seamless collaboration across clinicians and services in order to support patients beyond their GP. Record sharing is particularly important, as collaboration is viewed more favourably if the patients don’t find themselves explaining their history once again.
• Increasing access to community services was highlighted as important with regard to prevention and leading a healthy life.