Health Management and Policy Alert

How might Covid-19 affect the number of GPs available to see patients in England?

Health Foundation -
This research reveals that one in three GPs who singlehandedly manage a GP practice are at high risk of death from Covid-19. It estimates that this could potentially leave 710,043 patients without face-to-face appointments with their GPs if those at high risk take the difficult decision to limit direct patient contact. It argues that CCGs must ensure that they are aware of gaps in face-to-face provision of core general practice services, and must work with practices and primary care networks to find solutions.

• Briefing
• Health Foundation - press release

Strategic Health Authorities and regions: lessons from history

Nuffield Trust -
In 2019, NHS England and NHS Improvement aligned to operate as a single organisation, resulting in the creation of seven regional teams. But this is not the first time national oversight of health care has been supported by these kinds of regional bodies. This report considers what lessons might be learned from recent previous experiences, what works, and what are the pitfalls for this kind of intermediate-level management. A range of senior representatives who were responsible for running regional health authorities in their previous incarnation were interviewed for the report and the issues were discussed with people working in other parts of the health system hierarchy at that time.

• Report
• Nuffield Trust - publications

Time to be radical? : the view from system leaders on the future of ‘system by default’

NHS Confederation -
The NHS Confederation’s ICS Network conducted a poll to assess the direction of travel systems themselves would like to see, beyond the emergency response to Covid-19 and towards a possible future vision. The results of the poll are outlined in this report.

• Report
• NHS Confederation - publications

Rebuilding the NHS: improving medical pathways for acute care

Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) - 

The RCEM, together with the Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Physicians and the Society for Acute Medicine, have made recommendations for the immediate transformation of the urgent and emergency care pathway. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, the public must be confident that they will receive urgent and emergency care in a safe environment The statement set out some principles and makes ten recommendations.

• Statement
• Press release

 

Rebuilding the NHS: resetting outpatient services for the 21st century in the context of Covid-19

Royal College of Physicians (RCP) - 

In this document the RCP, together with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), set out principles and recommendations for the reset of outpatient services. The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the NHS can adapt quickly and presents an opportunity to reset outpatient services.

• Report
• More detail

 

Reimagining the future of health and social care: how to learn the lessons from the Covid-19 crisis for a next generation health and care system

Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) - 

The Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a real-time experiment of the capacity of the health and care system to meet population needs over the coming years. This report looks at what has been learnt about the UK’s health and social care system through the Covid-19 crisis, and how this might translate to profound change within the system.

• Report
• More detail

General practice in the post Covid world: challenges and opportunities for general practice

Royal College of General Practitioners - 

This report calls on the four governments of the UK to each produce a comprehensive plan to support GPs in managing the longer-term effects of Covid-19 in the community. The RCGP says the plans should contain: costed proposals for additional funding for general practice; solutions for how the current GP workforce capacity can manage new and pre-existing pressures; commitments to continue the reduction in regulatory burdens and ‘red tape’ which has enabled GPs to spend more time on frontline patient care during the pandemic; a systematic approach for identifying those patients who are likely to require primary care support; and proposals for how health inequalities will be minimised to ensure all patients have access to the necessary post-Covid-19 care.

• Report
• Press release

How to improve the health and wellbeing of the UK population: devolution and reform of health and social care

ResPublica -
This report, which was largely completed before the Covid-19 outbreak, aims to provide comprehensive and actionable recommendations for the reform of health and social care. It looks at the role of individual circumstances in determining health outcomes, the operational measures that can improve patient outcomes, and population health and the need to streamline responsibilities so it is clear who is accountable for performance.

• Report
• ResPublica - publications

Prevention in the age of information: public education for better health

Institute for Public Policy Research - 

Government has recognised there needs to be action to reduce the burden of preventable illness. This is an opportunity to deliver a paradigm shift in preventative health policy in the UK and embed public education as a major tool for driving better health. This report begins to set out how this might be achieved.

• Report
• More detail

How to enhance the integration of primary care and public health? Approaches, facilitating factors and policy options

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies - 

This policy brief explores how primary care and public health can be brought together to improve the health of patients and populations. It describes the types of initiatives that have been undertaken; provides examples of such initiatives in Europe and beyond; and summarises the factors that can help to enhance or hinder the integration of primary care and public health.

• Policy brief
• More detail