Agenda item

The CCG will attend to discuss access to in-person consultations with local GPs. A presentation is enclosed.

Sam Hepplewhite, Southwark CCG, gave a presentation on access to in-person consultations with local GPs.

 A member asked if GPs ought to close their books if they do not have the capacity to offer face to face GP appointments. The Director of Place said this was not advisable, as people do need to be able to register with a doctor. Presently one GP covers 2000 people on average, however in Southwark it is more than this.

Members commented that it is concerning that the number of GPs has gone down and consequently they are seeing more people. The Director of Place responded that the workforce is variable, however she recognised the concerns. Patient feedback is generally positive but shows that some patients are very unhappy.

A member reported that it recently it took him an hour and half on the telephone to get an appointment. The Director of Place said that there is government money in the pipeline to provide more capacity - both for face to face appointments and improved telephone systems.  However this new funding has not been that well received by GPs because it is less than 5 months’ worth of money is which is non-recurring means so it is not a long term solution to the problem of staffing, and in the short term it is driving the price of locums up. Southwark will receive about £1million plus there will be some money for 111 and emergency hubs at a South East London regional level. Southwark NHS are encouraging GPs to work locally in collaboration on the use of the funding.

The Director of Place was asked if Southwark will eventually see an increase in GPs in the borough and she responded that there are not a huge pool of GPs to recruit from so the NHS are recruiting more associated professionals, such as paramedics and mental health workers, and building public confidence for people to see them.

 A member queried if there was politically driven pressure on practices so larger American corporations can move in. The Director of Place said that there are negotiations with the national leadership of GPs on the issue of training and outmoded contracts. She added that GPs are on the frontline with both healthcare delivery and vaccination roll out, which have been fraught during the pandemic.

Members asked if, despite the huge difficulties, adaptation to the pandemic has driven innovation and exposed obsolete practices. The Director of Place said that there are a tranche of people who want online and video consultation and do not care so much about continuity of care, whereas there is another tranche that want face to face and continuity .The Director of Place agreed there is a digital divide as well as an institutional need for infection control with the pandemic which means that practices cannot go back to the former volume of face to face consultation. She added that poor quality outmoded telephone systems are an obstacle to virtual consultations which the funding can help to address. A member added that the front of house also ought to be addressed, with the inefficiency and attitude of some reception staff is also hindering good quality patient experience, with a failure to pass on messages, being left to wait on the telephone system, not calling back or be being dealt with sufficient consideration.