Jo Turl (Director of Commissioning, NSH Devon ICS) introduced the draft Primary Care Strategy to the Committee, and highlighted the following points-

a)    Healthwatch’s report had portrayed a valuable and fair representation of issues currently facing Plymouth’s health services. Demand for health services had increased after the pandemic, and had caused many issues for patients in accessing services;

b)    The Primary Care Strategy before the Committee was a draft work, with greater scrutiny and consultation required before its publication. Comments and engagement from the Committee were welcomed to help shape a robust policy, capable of producing a reliable care strategy for future years;

c)    There was a specific requirement for the policy to address patient access issues and demand, as well as the role of general practice in a holistic system, supported by pharmacy, community teams, and voluntary sector;

d)    It was important to note that not all health issues were best addressed through face to face appointments with medical professionals. A blended approach to access, as well as the inclusion of pharmacy and the voluntary sector could often be more convenient, efficient and effective;

e)    Service provision methods were unlikely to return to those pre-pandemic. Instead, methods such as E-consult were being continually modified and improved to enhance patient satisfaction, while also managing high demand.

Dafydd Jones (GP) presented a GPs perspective to the Committee, and highlighted the following points-

a)    Dafydd had been a GP for 11 years, working in a range of areas and practices across the city;

b)    GP services were facing significant challenges from high demand and capacity limitations. This undoubtedly impacted upon patient experiences and outcomes;

c)    A strategy document was warmly welcomed, bringing essential long-term management of future demand and capacity issues for Plymouths health and care services. 

In response to questions from the committee, it was reported that-

d)    GPs did not get professional fulfilment from phone and online contact. These were merely methods introduced to best manage high demand and low capacity;

e)    Within the past 2 years, Dafydd’s surgery had lost the equivalent of 3 full-time GPs, with recruitment proving unsuccessful. The average training period for prospective GPs was 5/6 years at medical school, followed by 5 years of experience post medical school;

f)     Dafydd’s surgery received around 1,000 calls on a typical Monday, and around 600 per day Tuesday-Friday. This was combined with around 1,200-1,500 E-consults per week, an increase of around 25% over past 2 years;

g)    The Primary Care Strategy would undergo further consultation and review to set ambitions local targets for service provision. A final version was expected to be produced before the end of December 2022.

The Committee agreed-

1)    To note the drat Primary Care Strategy;

2)    To recommend to Jo Turl and the Devon ICS, that the final Primary Care Strategy must include a variety of access methods to ensure inclusivity (digital, phone, & in-person), to allow Patients to access GP services in a timely manner;

3)    To recommend that the Committee be offered a briefing within a GP practise, to gain experiences of GP’s work.