DAUK has warned NHS England’s Medium Term Planning Framework risks undermining the core strengths of general practice and could compromise patient care.
The framework includes a target for GPs to see 90 per cent of all ‘clinically urgent’ patients on the same day.
Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP co-lead, said the plan threatened to divert focus from what GPs do best.
She said: “This is a plan that isn’t needed.
Urgent care
“GP practices are not urgent care services. Who is determining what is urgent?
“However, we already manage to meet most urgent requests on the day, with 14 million people a month dealt with on the day of contact, up from 11 million, three years ago.
“This approach will prevent the management of chronic conditions and moves away from the much-needed work on prevention.
“This is what general practice does best – providing long-term care and fostering relationships with our patients through continuity of care.
Targets
“Introducing targets does not necessarily result in good quality care.”
Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP Co-Lead, added that while the framework acknowledges the importance of community care, more resources are needed to effectively deliver it.
“The medium term planning framework is missing some key and important components,” said Dr Taylor.
“The focus on community is not being funded, in particular the existing infrastructure of community care.
“The focus on newer deliveries of services is not costed. For example, Pharmacy First appointments cost up to £50.
GP practices
“GP practices have not been funded.
“Neighbourhood services sound new but are already there and have been in place since the start of the NHS.
“Sadly, the top-down approach is failing patient care in the community.”
Their comments have featured in reports in the BMJ and on the Doctors.Net website.
DAUK’s GP committee has said it is available to work with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Department for Health on the issues facing general practice.
Collaboration
Dr Taylor said: “DAUK’s GP committee has decades of experience and has put together workable solutions which we have shared with politicians.”
DAUK committee members are all volunteers and campaign about issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.
