Agenda and minutes

The Vice Chairman, Cllr Christine Wild welcomed everyone and advised that she would be Chairing the meeting in the absence of the Chairman.

A Member enquired as to whether the meeting was being webcast, to be advised that it was not, but plans were being developed to ensure future meetings would be recorded and made available to the public.

Apologies had been received from Cllrs Salman Akbar, Brandon Clayton and Kit Taylor.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 16 February 2024). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

To follow

This Item was deferred.

The Chief Executive of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (HWICB) referred the Committee to the Agenda Report and drew attention to some of the content.

Access to Primary Care was a high priority for central Government, the NHS nationally and more locally the HWICB. To emphasise the importance of the issue, a national delivery plan for the Recovery of Primary Care Access had been published in May 2023.

It was widely accepted that since the Covid-19 pandemic, health service delivery had changed and individual’s needs had changed, mainly that there was different and increased need than 5 years ago. Despite 19% more appointments being available (across Herefordshire and Worcestershire) in December 2023, compared to December 2019, it was acknowledged that many people were having too much difficulty.

It was important to help people understand the options available to them to access GPs and triage was an important part of this. Routes of access to Primary Care had also changed beyond recognition.

The latest annual GP Survey from 2023 reported that Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System (HWICS) performed well overall, out of the 42 Integrated Care Systems nationally, however, there was a massive variation in performance and satisfaction across all of the Worcestershire Practices. The Chief Executive acknowledged that although some residents were happy, on the whole residents were unsatisfied and the increase in the number of complaints he had received in relation to access to Primary Care over the last two years was noticeable.

The Primary Care Network Clinical Director advised that as a GP, he agreed that the service had changed massively and patient need had changed to the extent that Primary Care was not able to meet demand with the resources available. Nationally, GPs were leaving their role and the demand for appointments had increased. The triage system was vital to ensure that the clinical need was met in the most appropriate way.

Advances in technology had improved working practices, such as phone systems with features such as a call back option or being able to cancel an appointment without speaking to a member of staff. 54% of patients had already registered on the NHS App and Members were encouraged to promote its use further. GP Practice websites had been updated and online triage forms were also commended as, based on clinical need, patient need was better met. It also allowed for flexibility, such as potential for continuity of care (i.e. same clinician) and appropriate consultation time (i.e. a longer appointment if required).

The Director of Primary Care Transformation & Delegated Commissioning briefly reported on the NHS Pharmacy First Service, which had just been launched and was a national drive to enable community pharmacists to treat patients for common conditions without the need for a GP appointment or prescription and therefore ease some of the pressure on Primary Care. Across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, 113 community pharmacies had already registered and this was the highest up take in the Midlands. Members were reminded that HWICB had taken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1185.

The Chairman advised that the Work Programme was subject to a refresh to ensure it remained relevant.

As a result of the discussion on Access to GP Appointments, it was agreed to investigate whether the Committee could discuss the GP Out of Hours proposals prior to any procurement process.