After the accompaniment of “that” letter from NHS England alongside the most recent Standard Operating Procedure, general practice has reacted. Anger, frustration, sadness, shock, and depression are all words permeating through the primary care world at the moment. With workload and demand at an all-time high and staffing numbers stagnating or in decline across many areas, and a (so far, highly successful) vaccination programme to deliver, the general feeling is that this is a slap in the face from central government and the mainstream media alike. There has also been a direct (and much darker) impact on the ground with cases of abuse from patients directed at staff on the rise. Against this depressing backdrop, our joint Practice Index, Practice Manager panel return and are joined by GP and Clinical Director Dr Hussain Gandhi, to reflect on the detail of the letter, the implications of it, the impact on digital evolution in primary care, workload, capacity, patient education and most importantly, how we move forward from here.
Introductions (45 secs)
Nicola’s reaction the letter (1 min 19 secs)
From Robyn’s perspective (2 mins 2 secs)
Gandhi’s view (2 mins 46 secs)
Why was the letter issued? (3 mins 53 secs)
Long term issues with access (4 mins 59 secs)
Diverting attention from the bigger, more long-term challenges (5 mins 38 secs)
The impact on staffing capacity (and turnover) (5 mins 56 secs)
Crunching the staffing numbers (6 mins 36 secs)
Effect on Whole Time Equivalents (WTE) and clinical sessions (7 mins 29 secs)
Can the additional roles make a positive difference? (8 mins 36 secs)
Patient education is key (9 mins 29 secs)
Digital evolution (10 mins 13 secs)
Signposting patients to the most appropriate care provider (11 mins 20 secs)
What happens now re. remote consultations? (12 mins 35 secs)
Online consultations; help or hindrance when considering total demand (14 mins 29 secs)
Balancing telephone, online and face to face consults (16 mins 20 secs)
Why is demand at an all-time high? (17 mins 16 secs)
Patient appreciation and understanding (19 mins 19 secs)
The impact of the NHSE letter for practices on the ground (19 mins 57 secs)
How do we respond? (22 mins 12 secs)
The Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) view (22 mins 45 secs)
Final thoughts from Gandhi (23 mins 26 secs)
The IGPM are currently running a campaign to raise awareness of the abuse suffered by general practice staff right now. View and promote here: (short clip) and (long clip)