Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) Integrated Care Board (ICB) which provided an update on the delivery of the LLR 2023/24 System-level Access Improvement Plans and the NHS England Primary Care Recovery Plan for 2024/25. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting for this item Mayur Patel, Head of Transformation, ICB, Sue Venables, Project Lead - Engagement and Communications, ICB, Sulaxni Nainani, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, ICB and Yasmin Sidyot, Deputy Director Integration and Transformation, ICB.

Arising from discussions the following points were made and noted:

(i)           In 2022/23 GP practices provided 6,948,961 clinical appointments for their patients; in 2023/24 this figure rose to 7,451,092 clinical appointments, a rise of 502,131 (7.2.%) appointments. Members noted that whilst on the face of it this seemed a big positive, how much of an improvement it really was depended on the exact nature of the appointments. Some patients were more reassured by having an appointment with a GP rather than with another medical professional. In response it was explained that there was a broad array of different types of clinical appointments in LLR; the majority of these additional appointments were with a GP but some were with clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, and Advanced Nurse Practitioners. There was only a very small amount of Physician Associates employed in LLR.

(ii)         The Pharmacy First scheme was launched in January 2024 which involved expanding the role of community pharmacies so that they could supply prescription medicines for seven common conditions. In response to a question from a member as to whether the scheme had been sufficiently publicised, it was explained that a publicity campaign had already taken place which had included social media but more publicity could be carried out and a further campaign would take place in 2024. Given that the Pharmacy First service was relatively new, assessments were being made of how it could be improved, and pharmacies were being consulted on what further training they required. In LLR 99% of pharmacies were registered for Pharmacy First. Some pharmacies had felt they needed more training before they could deliver the whole Pharmacy First package. Once the further training had been provided the capacity of Pharmacy First could increase.

(iii)        Patients were being empowered to manage their own health by using self-referral pathways for services such as musculoskeletal physiotherapy, podiatry and weight management. In response to a question from a member as to the impact of these self-referral pathways and whether waiting lists were being reduced it was agreed that this information would be provided after the meeting.

(iv)       A member raised concerns about patients not attending appointments that they had booked and queried whether this was a particular issue with self-referrals. It was also questioned what measures could be put in place to discourage patients from not attending appointments. In response it was agreed that the issue of self-referrals would be looked into and data on non-attendance would be provided to the Committee when available.

(v)         There was some variance between Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across LLR in relation to the service provided. Some of this variance was warranted due to local need, but some of it was unwarranted such as differences in websites, and work was taking place to address this.

(vi)       A 7-week public engagement and survey was undertaken in LLR regarding GP Practices.  The survey commenced on 23 January 2024 and ran until 10 March 2024 and a total of 28,974 people participated. Members welcomed the numbers of people that had taken part in the survey. However, members raised concerns that more than a third of respondents said that they were either ‘fairly dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with the appointment times available to them. In response it was suggested that the answers to this question might have reflected the perception of respondents rather than reality. Members were also reminded that further improvements had been made since the survey took place. A fresh survey would be carried out in January 2025.

(vii)      A member requested that NHS professionals avoid jargon when engaging with patients and emphasised that the elderly in particular needed processes articulated to them clearly.

(viii)    NHS colleagues from other parts of the country had been learning good practice from LLR. There had been praise nationally on the digital interface between primary and secondary care in LLR.

(ix)       Members welcomed the improvements that had been made with regards to GP access in LLR but emphasised that performance needed to improve further.

RESOLVED:

That the update on access to GP Practices be noted.