Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health

The following representatives have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item:

Dr Ali Bryce, Coventry GP Alliance

Dr Jamie Macpherson, Local Medical Committee

Dr Peter O’Brien, Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group

The Scrutiny Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health which provided an update on the progress made against the recommendations contained in her Annual Report for 2014 concerning the development and improvement of primary care in Coventry, to ensure that the service could adapt to the challenges of the future. Dr Jamie Macpherson, Local Medical Committee, Dr Peter O’Brien and Nikkie Taylor, Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Sue Price, NHS Area Team, and Dr Nishan Wiratunga, Coventry GP Alliance attended the meeting for the consideration of this issue. Councillor Gingell, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Services also attended.

The report referred to the Council’s partnership working with Coventry and Rugby CCG, NHS England, Coventry Local Medical Committee, Healthwatch Coventry, Coventry Local Pharmaceutical Committee, local GPs and patient representatives to build a shared vision of primary care in Coventry to ensure the model of care was fit for the future.

Considerable progress had been made across a number of areas. Public Health had continued to work with primary care to deliver lifestyle services and had developed an online directory to provide an overview of community initiatives and lifestyle services within Coventry. A hard copy of this directory was tabled at the meeting. The Primary Care Quality Group were exploring asset based development approaches to encourage and empower people to have a greater role in managing their own health. Public Health had also completed a pharmaceutical needs assessment to ensure pharmacy provision was adequate in the city.

The Coventry GP Alliance was established in 2014 by local GPs with the vision of protecting, improving and enhancing primary care in the city. Reference was made to a workshop held in February 2015 which was attended by representatives from across the primary care system to start building a shared vision.

The Board were informed that future work would continue to build upon these areas with innovative practice being celebrated at a GP award evening planned to take place in June. The Primary Care Quality Group would also work to address the challenges primary care faced, undertaking projects to improve GP recruitment and retention in the city and empowering and enabling people to access community, lifestyle and pharmacy services as well as looking after themselves.

The medical representatives present informed of their involvement with the development of primary care in the city. Attention was drawn to the bid made by the GP Alliance to the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund ‘Best Care, Anywhere: Integrated Primary Care in Coventry’. The bid put forward the following three high impact schemes which would link to existing services:

(i) An extended hours hub which offered weekday urgent appointments between 4.00 pm and 8.00 pm and weekend routine appointments

(ii) A Primary Care Frailty Team determining discharge and care planning for frail patients and managing them in proactive community based primary care

(iii) A GP Primary Care Team in the Emergency Department treating patients with minor issues.

The Board questioned the officers and representatives on a number of issues and responses were provided. Matters raised included:

·  Further information on the bid to Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund including timescales and plans to move the initiatives forward if the bid was not successful

·  Implementing the announcement made that day concerning pharmacists working from GP surgeries, the potential for triaging and making best use of their expert knowledge

·  The future role of single and small GP practices with particular reference to performance outcomes and the need for gender balance

·  The benefits of GP networks to share knowledge and expertise

·  Partnership working with Whitefriars

·  The problems for residents who have had benefit reductions imposed on them and the GP advocate support role

·  The additional problems that can arise for patients and their families when patients with mental health problems have to wait for assessments and treatment and how improvements to primary care could help such cases

·  The support available for GPs if more patients with mental health issues are discharged to their care

·  Support for the healthy lifestyle services directory which would be used by both the public and professionals working in primary care

·  Concerns about the low morale of some GPs which was causing them to look for employment outside of the NHS and the need for positivity

·  The potential to further develop relationships with Warwick University Medical School

·  What patients would want and expect the Primary Care system to deliver and the importance of being able to provide continuity of care

·  The importance of data sharing, in particular the walk in centre and any out of hours service being able to access to patient records.

RESOLVED that:

(1) The suggested approach for continuing to develop and improve primary care in Coventry be endorsed.

(2) A summary of the discussions concerning the vision for primary care in Coventry be circulated to all the representatives present.

(3) Members to be informed of the outcome of the bid to the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund for three high impact primary care schemes aimed at improving access and ensuring continuity of care.