NHS Head calls for primary care vision

NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard commented that the NHS needs a “modern vision” for primary care. She set out her ideas at the annual conference of the NHS Confederation.

Quoted by the Health Service Journal, Ms Pritchard spoke of some “startling” changes and opportunities which, she believes, will finally shift care into the community. This includes local services moving “from shunting risk and cost – and people – from one service to another, to an understanding that both patients and taxpayers are best served when everyone is doing their bit.”

She referred to the 2022 Fuller review of primary care. She said the number of GPs would need to grow but pilot schemes in seven areas were moving towards “streamlined access to urgent care or advice, and proactive, personalised care for patients with long-term needs”.

Flawed appointments measure shelved

Practices had risked losing thousands of pounds because they could not provide accurate data on appointments for indicator ACC-08. The IGPM had warned NHS England of a “significant flaw” in one of the appointment management systems. It said that practices were incorrectly being told they had not met targets.

NHS England has told the IGPM that practices will no longer be penalised: “Commissioners will instead be provided with a Ready Reckoner to support the calculation of payment amounts, which will require submission by the commissioners via the PCN Contract Variation process.”

The IGPM said: “This amazing result is because of our hard work – supported by all of you, we can really make a difference.”

Latest IT crisis hits Cornwall

Practices in Cornwall have been hit by a county-wide IT failure. NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly said the outage on Tuesday mainly affected emergency departments and ambulance handovers.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm all GP and outpatient appointments, planned operations and procedures are going ahead today and patients should please come to the GP surgery, hospital or health centre as planned.”

The region was the latest to be hit by IT problems following the cyber-attack in London. Dr Michelle Drage, Chief Executive of the Londonwide local medical committees, said: “This is the latest in a long line of London hospital trust IT failings… Delays to test results are unsafe and leave GPs flying blind while having to manage the justifiable anxieties of thousands of patients.”

Digitalisation plans on hold

Digitalisation plans for practices have been put on hold because of a legal challenge. The Digital Pathways Framework is due to develop a range of products for practices, including online consultations, patient record viewing and handling of online administration requests. NHS England said it is providing enhanced national support because of the delay in issuing the framework, which was due this month.

It has told practices: “Following a recent challenge to the new DP framework, legal action is ongoing and progress has been delayed.”

GP leaders in new call to political leaders

LMCs from across the UK have joined together to press the party leaders to commit to improving general practice.

In a joint letter, organised by Rebuild General Practice, the LMCs from England, Scotland and Wales call for “greater freedom and autonomy to do our jobs”. They call for a plan to retain GPs in the NHS and fair funding for primary care.

Rebuild General Practice said: “This is the first time in history that this many LMCs have spoken with one voice – to call for urgent action to address the crisis in general practice. As expert generalists, we know our patients best and are aware of their holistic needs. We alone can provide the continuity of care that patients want, and that saves lives.”

Parents urged to check whooping cough vaccines

Parents have been given an urgent warning to ensure child vaccinations are up to date following an outbreak of whooping cough. NHS England says the south of England is a “hot spot” for the disease, but there are growing number of infections throughout the UK.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “This outbreak and the spike in measles cases at the start of 2024, have brought to the fore the dangers of vaccine complacency and hesitancy, and the importance of community outreach in addressing concerns and highlighting the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations.”