Summary
Colleagues say they are willing to embrace new opportunities in the future, but the right support must be in place.
The NHS 10-Year Health Plan and the prospect of neighbourhood working will provide opportunities for collaboration, innovation and empowerment within primary care.
Colleagues are excited at the prospect of reducing inequalities, improving access and having genuine parity across all four disciplines of primary care.
However, they are concerned about having insufficient funding and infrastructure to deliver these ambitions, along with the capacity of their workforce, and recruitment challenges.
These are just some of the views captured during the table-top discussions at the Greater Manchester Primary Care Summit in October.
The event welcomed more than 200 delegates from community pharmacy, dentistry, general practice and optometry, along with representatives from the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector (VCFSE).
It was an opportunity to mark the 10-year anniversary of Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board (GMPCB), as well as debate the key topics of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, prevention and neighbourhood working.
Feedback on the 10-year health plan included optimism for working with partners to design services around citizens from the outset, and forming new relationships with industry and communities to explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital transformation.
One quote from the day included: “As pharmacists and optometrists, we are excited to be able to provide access to preventative healthcare to people who don’t always access traditional GP services.”
However, people highlighted the lack of interoperability with fragmented IT systems and the risk that digital-first approaches could widen inequalities for the vulnerable.
On neighbourhood working, there was still a lack of clarity on the definition of a ‘neighbourhood’ and how they fit within local structures. Delegates also wanted assurances that neighbourhood models would not increase the burden on primary care, without appropriate resources.
On a positive note, colleagues embraced the potential for an empowered, sustainable primary care at the heart of neighbourhood working. They welcomed a vision for locally-defined, person-centred and inclusive care, with services integrated across health, local authority and voluntary sectors – as one person described it: “Everyone working together.”
The full feedback has been captured in a report, which has been shared with GMPCB members and key leaders at NHS GM.
Elements of the feedback have also contributed to a GMPCB paper, ‘Delivering the Greater Manchester Strategy’, which focuses on the role of primary care providers and the PCB in delivering, and supporting the delivery, of key national and system ambitions.
Further feedback from the Primary Care Summit showed that the event ‘clearly’ communicated the future vision for primary care collaboration and, as a result, the majority of people felt that they understood the role of the NHS 10-year plan in shaping future primary care.
