Health Management and Policy Alert

Primary care networks: three years on

NHS Confederation - 

This report considers the progress of primary care networks (PCNs) since their establishment in July 2019, taking stock of the challenges they have faced as well as their successes.

• Report
• More detail

'The future of general practice' report: what you need to know

NHS Confederation - 

The Health and Social Care Select Committee has published its report, The future of general practice, following an inquiry to explore the future of NHS general practice. The inquiry examined the key challenges facing general practice over the next five years as well as the current and ongoing barriers to access to general practice. This briefing provides a summary and analysis of the findings from the report.

• Briefing

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2020 to 2021

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The annual report for 2020 to 2021 sets out government-funded projects supporting the development, introduction and evaluation of assistive technology. These projects can help increase the independence or wellbeing of disabled and older people.

• Annual report
• More detail

Job crafting and flexible working in general practice

Institute for Employment Studies - 

This study explores how six GP practices across the UK have approached the challenges of designing and implementing flexible work designs and job crafting to meet the increase in patient demands and ensure that individual staff needs, and the wider practice can be balanced.

• Report
• More detail

The future of general practice

House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee - 

This report on urges ministers and NHS England to acknowledge a crisis in general practice and set out what steps they are taking to protect patient safety.It sets out steps to reverse the decline in the continuity of care, making it an explicit national priority with a new measure requiring GP practices to report on continuity of care by 2024. However, this will be more difficult to achieve unless the workforce crisis is also addressed.

• Report
• Press release

Under pressure: an analysis of primary care pressures facing Integrated Care Systems at launch

Future Health -
This report identifies 16 of 42 regions where primary and secondary care services are under high levels of pressure going into this winter. The research finds widespread variation in access to services including a nearly four-fold variation in the proportion of patients waiting three weeks or more for a GP appointment. Analysis from nine different NHS data sources including appointment access, waiting times and ratios of staff to patients is used to look at relative pressures between new integrated care systems, established in July 2022 and now responsible for regionally managing health services.

• Report
• Future Health - publications

The role of voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in public procurement

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) - 

The DCMS commissioned independent analysis to assist the government in targeting efforts first, to unlock public service spend for maximum social value and second, to support the sustainability of the VCSE sectors. This research explores the role which VCSEs can play in public services. It identifies how we can reduce barriers to increase VCSE participation in public service markets. A particular focus lies in areas such as health and social care, disability, employability, where tailored and bespoke support is often beneficial to best support vulnerable groups.

• Report
• More detail

Bureaucracy busting concordat: principles to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and administrative burdens on general practice

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The government made a public commitment as part of the 2020 to 2021 GP contract update to jointly review bureaucracy in general practice with NHS England. The intention of the review was to reduce the burden on general practitioners and primary care teams, releasing more time to focus on patient care. The concordat is a complementary piece of work to the review and outlines seven principles to help reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and administrative burdens in general practice. It was developed with the input of stakeholders including the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

• Concordat
• More detail

Vision for pharmacy practice in England

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - 

The RPS's project with The King's Fund, transforming pharmacy practice, is developing a vision for the role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams working across systems providing patient care and NHS services. People are being asked to respond to a consultation survey on six key themes and The King's Fund have completed a literature review which has helped inform these initial themes. The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 30th September 2022.

• Consultation details
• Press release

Pre-registration community nursing placements survey report

Queen’s Nursing Institute - 

The report is based on evidence gathered through an online survey, part of a wider programme of work to highlight the community placement options available for pre-registration nursing students and the career opportunities that may follow. Historically there has been an emphasis on learning in hospital settings, where pre-registration student nurses gain experience in generalist and specialist areas. However, with more and increasingly complex healthcare now being delivered in the community, it is essential that student nurses gain a wider range of experiences.

• Report
• Press release