Agenda item

Presentation by the Commissioning Lead – Primary Care, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board

The Commissioning Lead – Primary Care, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board gave a presentation (previously circulated) updating Members on Primary Care access.

The presentation provided Members with an overview of primary care in the Tees Valley, with details provided of the configuration and the contract requirements for practices; reference was also made to the Primary Care Network (PCN) Contract Directed Enhanced Services (DES). Members noted the PCN enhanced access services which were available to all Darlington patients and that a mixed model was in operation in Darlington, with practices providing some hours and Primary Healthcare Darlington providing the remaining.

Details were provided of the findings of the GP Patient survey 2022, an independent survey run by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England; primary care appointment activity and causes of access challenges were outlined; and improvements to access included increased practice workforce and increased PCN workforce, with 244 staff funded across the Tees Valley from Additional Role Reimbursement Scheme, 33 of those being employed by Darlington PCN.

Members were also provided with details of additional access to GP appointments on Sundays and Bank Holidays through a Winter Resilience scheme commissioned by the ICB; and the further support to improve access was outlined.

Particular discussion ensued regarding the GP Patient Survey results which Members felt did not reflect residents feedback; Members were assured that Darlington practices implemented a number of different mechanisms to capture patient feedback in addition to the GP Patient Survey.

Discussion also ensued regarding patients that do not attend their appointments (DNAs); Members highlighted the need for greater work to identify barriers to access, reasons for DNAs and how these could be addressed and requested that this be fed back to the PCN for consideration. The Commissioning Lead – Primary Care, informed Members of the range of measures in place to address DNA’s including appointment reminders and the use of social media; and following a question regarding staff, Members were advised that a range of training courses were offered to all staff in the GP practices via the Primary Care training hub, including customer service skills and managing difficult conversations.

Members highlighted the need to communicate the different roles of staff in GP practices to the wider public.

RESOLVED – That the thanks of this Scrutiny Committee be extended to the Commissioning Lead – Primary Care, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board for her interesting and informative presentation.