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Showing results for tags 'Primary care'.
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NHS Impact resources
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in NHS England
Delivery and continuous improvement review Information about the delivery and continuous improvement review. Resources and materials Access improvement resources including good practice pathways and guidance documents. Real-time data Access real-time data to support improvement activities. Urgent and emergency care improvement These resources provide guidance and support to drive continuous improvement in urgent and emergency care services. Elective care improvement These resources provide guidance and support to drive continuous improvement in elective care improvement. Primary care improvement These resources provide guidance and support to drive continuous improvement in primary care improvement. -
News Article
Trust’s A&E ‘effectively running primary care service’, says chair
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An acute trust chair has said its emergency department is effectively operating as a primary care service. Hattie Llewelyn-Davies, who has chaired The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust since late 2021, told HSJ: “We’ve done an awful lot of changes in the way we run out A&E and same day emergency care service to try and get the flow through working better… “We have particular problems with the Princess Alexandra because we are right in the middle of Harlow. And we have a GP service and primary care service which is under massive pressure. We have very high levels of deprivation in Harlow. “When somebody is sick in Harlow and can’t get a doctor’s appointment on the spot, they walk into us. We have a very high level of people coming in, so a very high level of footfall but a very low level of admissions. “We are therefore running effectively a primary care service through our A&E.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 May 2023 -
EventuntilDigital health promises to revolutionise health care delivery and address longstanding health system challenges, if developed and implemented across systems safely. Join the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London and the African Forum for Primary Health Care (AfroPHC) for the launch of the new report, “Digital health in primary health care: current use and future opportunities in the Sub-Sharan African Region”, The report sets out where digital technologies are being used to drive primary health care innovation across Sub-Saharan Africa, underpinned by examples and lessons learned from experts across the region. The goal in creating this report is to provide a synthesis of current evidence and thought leadership in one place. It presents the current use of digital health across health systems to frame future opportunities, the challenges and threats that must be addressed, providing recommendations to key stakeholder groups. Register
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Content ArticleThis plan from NHS England has two central ambitions: 1. To tackle the 8am rush and reduce the number of people struggling to contact their practice. Patients should no longer be asked to call back another day to book an appointment, and we will invest in general practice to enable this. 2. For patients to know on the day they contact their practice how their request will be managed. a. If their need is clinically urgent it should be assessed on the same day by a telephone or face-to-face appointment. If the patient contacts their practice in the afternoon they may be assessed on the next day, where clinically appropriate. b. If their need is not urgent, but it requires a telephone or face-to-face appointment, this should be scheduled within two weeks. c. Where appropriate, patients will be signposted to self-care or other local services (eg community pharmacy or self-referral services).
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EventuntilIn the context of the complex challenges across the health and care landscape, including significant workforce shortages and limited clinical capacity, this free online event will consider the role of diagnostics in supporting those working in the system and keeping people out of hospital. The King's Fund event will explore: the potential that increased access to diagnostic testing, and in particular in vitro diagnostic testing, in primary care, the community and in community diagnostic hubs offers to diagnosing people earlier and avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions what innovations in patient pathways mean for those working across the system and how they are being supported to make changes, in the context of the significant challenges they are facing the role integrated care systems can play in developing diagnostic services that encourage innovation and are designed with people and communities at their heart. Register
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EventuntilPrimary care services are the front door to the NHS – they are the first port of call when we feel unwell and the main coordinator of care when we are living with ill health. The primary care team have an important role in making people feel welcomed, listened to and taken seriously. At National Voices we often hear stories from groups of people who struggle to have their communication needs met within primary care. As just one example, five years after the launch of the Accessible Information Standard, 67 per cent of Deaf people reported that still no accessible method of contacting their GP has been made available to them (Signhealth, 2022). This issue also affects other groups with specific communication needs - people who don't speak English fluently, people with learning disabilities, autistic people, people with dementia, people with low or no literacy, people who are digitally excluded, people living nomadically, people experiencing homelessness and more. We know that these experiences happen within the context of a primary care team under exceptional pressures. This workshop will bring together people with lived experience from all the groups mentioned above, as well as voluntary sector organisations, members of the primary care workforce, primary care policy leads, as well as commissioners and providers to discuss the challenges and co-produce solutions. At the workshop, we hope to build and improve understanding of: The experiences of people with diverse communication needs within primary care. The barriers primary care teams experience in meeting diverse communication needs, especially under existing pressures. Practical ways that we can embed and improve inclusive communications within the primary care setting. Register for the webinar. If you have any questions, please contact aleyah.babb-benjamin@nationalvoices.org.uk
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News Article
Pharmacy leaders hit out at NHS England ads redirecting patients from GPs
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Pharmacies do not have the capacity to absorb pressure from GPs unless it comes with additional funding, pharmacy leaders have warned. A new NHS England ad campaign, announced earlier this week, aims to redirect patients from GP practices to local pharmacies for minor conditions such as coughs, aches, cystitis and colds. But community pharmacy negotiating body PSNC has spoken out against the campaign calling it ‘deeply concerning’, ‘irresponsible, ‘extremely unhelpful’ and ‘irritating’. Malcom Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) said: ‘Community pharmacies are often the best place for patient to go for help with minor health concerns. ‘However the current situation that many pharmacies find themselves, with a 30% cut in real term funding, the NHS recruiting their pharmacists and technicians to work in general practice and with the continuing increase in the number of medicines prescribed, will mean that there is now a very real risk that when patients visit a pharmacy, they will be faced by exhausted teams and longer than expected waiting times. ‘The NHS policy of moving asking patients to visit their local pharmacy does not address the problem of delays to access in primary care, it simply moves it from one pressurized location to another. The NHS must address the chronic underfunding of primary care, and of pharmacy in particular, if patients are to be able to access the care they need and should rightly expect.’ Read full story Source: Pulse, 28 February 2023 -
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Content ArticleRecommendations Healthwatch have set out actions for the government, NHS England and Integrated Care Systems (ICS) to support GP practices and hospitals with referral processes. 1. Do more to understand the referral process: There is currently no published national data collection on where patient referrals fail and bounce back to general practice for a new referral. NHS England should work with Healthwatch England to add questions to the annual GP Patient Survey to understand people's experiences of the referral process. 2. Improve communication with patients: More support should be given to help GP and hospital teams to reduce the numbers of people returning to general practice due to communication failures following a referral. Communications must be accessible. Failed referrals and missed appointments can sometimes be down to patients receiving information in the wrong format. For example, we've heard from blind patients receiving inaccessible referral letters. We recommend that adaptations are made to the e-referral system or other appropriate care record systems to ensure services record people's communication preferences at the point of referral. Services should support people to update them about their communication needs if they change. Communications must be transparent. All parties should have access to the same centralised information about which stage of the referral process the person has progressed to. This includes patients, along with teams in general practice, referral management centres, hospital admissions teams and other parts of the NHS. This could be through planned updates to the NHS App. However, information should also be available and shared with patients via other communication methods, as noted in their care records. Communications must be collaborative. As well as improving channels for the NHS to update patients about their referral, patients must also have access to care navigators in general practice and a single point of contact at their hospital (or another referral setting). This is so patients can give feedback about their condition while waiting for care, including whether they need to cancel or reschedule appointments or quickly chase up a referral if they have not received information about its progress. 3. Invest in NHS admin staff NHS England and the government should work to improve access to general practice by training and hiring more care navigators, staff who can ensure people's needs are met in the right setting the first time. With more care navigators, the future of general practice could become one with fewer long waits on the phone and 24/7 access to online triage systems. And when people do fall into the referrals black hole, they will be able to flag these issues more quickly and access required support as soon as possible.
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News Article
Colorectal A&G pathway has been ‘barrier’ to cancer diagnoses, GPs warn
Patient_Safety_Learning posted a news article in News
GPs have raised concern about a new colorectal cancer pathway aimed at reducing referrals into one of England’s largest acute hospital trusts. The pathway was implemented in December 2022 to tackle long waiting lists at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) by reducing the number of referrals from primary care. But the Lincolnshire LMC and Primary Care Network Association both raised concerns about the pathway and its impact on general practice in a letter to their ICB earlier this month. Read full story Source: Pulse, 13 February -
EventuntilTaking place over two days in July, this virtual conference will provide you with the insight and guidance to best manage competing agendas and play an active role in shaping local services Join experts from across the health and care sector and gain the confidence to: navigate the evolving role of primary care in communities take an active role in shaping local services champion the voice of patients in primary care support multidisciplinary teams working to deliver integrated care around the needs of the population at neighbourhood and place level prioritise and support staff mental health and wellbeing to reduce burnout. Register
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Content ArticleSummary recommendations The National Screening Committee should reconsider the case for a targeted national screening programme to detect high fracture risk in 2023. The Government should instigate a public health campaign to address the lack of awareness and complacency in the public about bone health. Osteoporosis must be given parity with other long-term conditions, and defined as such within the NHS, to allow enhanced and equitable care and management. NHS England must outline plans to expand DXA services to deliver and exceed their recommended 4% increase in capacity in order to tackle the current backlog and future-proof services, and improve access by including DXA in minimum specifications for Community Diagnostic Centres. Every individual who requires ongoing management or surveillance to reduce their fracture risk should have a personalised ‘bone health management plan’ with a specified timescale for reviews. ICSs should utilise the breadth of skills and expertise within the multi-disciplinary team to optimise and streamline local management pathways for people at high risk of fragility fracture. Establish a new National Specialty Adviser for Fracture prevention and Osteoporosis within the NHS England and NHS Improvement clinical advisory structure, and equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The APPG recommends proportionate recognition of the importance of osteoporosis throughout healthcare education, with increased prominence in undergraduate and post-graduate healthcare professional training. Specialist services must support primary care colleagues to provide the best care to patients. All relevant national guidelines should be reviewed to better support imaging of the spine where there is a suspicion of vertebral fracture, particularly in patients with risk factors for osteoporosis. NHS England must provide sufficient funding for ICSs to deliver against national quality standards and NICE clinical guidance.
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RNID - Our ear wax removal campaign (2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in GP and primary care
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News Article
NHSE cuts £1bn from cancer, maternity and primary care funds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England is raiding a national fund earmarked for improvements in cancer, maternity care and other priority services by up to £1bn this year, to pay for deficits elsewhere, and will cut it by a similar amount in 2023-24, HSJ has learned. The “service development fund” is allocated at the beginning of the year for priority service areas also including primary care, community health, mental health, learning disabilities and health inequalities. Several NHSE directors said it was being tightly squeezed this year, amid major cost pressures from inflation, a pay deal unfunded by government, and higher than expected covid-related costs. One well-placed source said the fund this year was required to underspend by about £1bn against what had been planned, which will help balance overspends elsewhere in the NHS. The cuts are likely to be linked to ministers’ view that the NHS should focus on “core” priorities and cut other activities, including reducing NHSE national programme work which is typically linked to SDF budgets. Patricia Hewitt is looking into giving integrated care systems more “autonomy” from NHSE to set their own priorities. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 8 December 2022 -
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Each NHS Trust and local pharmacies in Dorset have been promoting awareness and providing updates for staff and patients on medications without harm and medicines safety following World Patient Safety Day in September. On Monday 17 October we held a face-to-face event to share learning from medicines incidents and to specifically focus on the safety improvement programme to reduce harm from opiate drugs in our communities. This provided an excellent opportunity to network with other healthcare professionals. Speakers on the day were: Head of Medicines Improvement at NHS Dorset who set the scene for the morning with facts and figures for discussion. Clinical Lead for the Wessex Academic Health Science Network Polypharmacy programme provided an update on the wider safety improvement work. Patient Safety Specialist with NHS Dorset presented a patient story of a person that died following accidental fatal intoxication with liquid morphine. Deputy Chief Pharmacist at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) and long serving Medicines Safety officer in Dorset shared the improvement work that has taken place in DCH in relation to opiate prescribing on discharge. Dr Sarah Kay, GP lead for Patient Safety with NHS Dorset, concluded the morning with a facilitated discussion session to share best practice and consider how organisations can work together to improve medicines safety. Attendees included Primary Care Network (PCN) pharmacists, hospital trust pharmacists, NHSD patient safety teams, medicines optimisation team, primary care team, AHSNs. In Dorset we prescribe almost double the volume of liquid opioids to patients in our hospitals when compared with others in our region. This increases the risk of prolonged prescribing in primary care, which can lead to long-term tolerance and dependency, and contributes to nearly 700 patients requesting multiple liquid opioid prescriptions each month for chronic non-cancer pain. This prescribing is having a disproportionate impact on women between 40 and 60 years of age and in more deprived areas of our county. At the event, we heard from some acute trusts and PCN colleagues who are having success in reducing opiate usage and promoting safe pain management strategies for people, as well as from the Wessex AHSN who can support ongoing improvement programmes. The morning was compered by NHS Dorset Patient Safety Partner (volunteer lay role) Simon Wraw who ensured the patient perspective was part of our discussions. The opportunity to meet face to face with colleagues was really valuable, as well as making new counterpart connections for each professional group. Feedback from attendees was positive and we hope to run a similar event in the future with a different topic focus. On the topic of networking, we have also contributed to the setup of the NHSE South West GP Quality Network. A scoping meeting was held in October to co-produce a plan for the network with participants. We hope to build the network, so if you work in any patient safety role across the South West and have an interest in general practice and connecting with colleagues to share good ideas and troubleshoot problems together please get in touch. The next network meeting will be 22 February 2023. Please email england.swqualityhub@nhs.net for an invite. Further reading See our recent Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Sarah and Jaydee. -
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