The need to invest in primary care and community services to repair the NHS is highlighted by the recent report by Lord Darzi.
The review highlights three shifts:
- Move hospital to community
- Analogue to digital
- Move from treating sickness to preventing it
Lord Darzi’s report sets the backdrop for the government to draft their 10-year NHS plan, but the direction is clear. A neighbourhood NHS, multi-disciplinary teams working in primary and community care, the need to support this shift by financial flows. The NHS Confederation highlighted in a recent report that for £1 invested in primary care the return is £14, but the opportunity if the shift is managed with the engagement of staff and patients is probably much higher. With Age UK analysis highlighting that on any given day over 2,000 people aged over 65 are admitted to hospital in an emergency for a condition that could have been treated in the community or prevented altogether, the scale of the opportunity if the NHS is repaired well starts to emerge.
There are already good examples of where services have been shifted into primary and community settings, and where working with trusts enables hospital clinicians to see patients in primary care settings. However, the pressure on primary care infrastructure, premises and digital infrastructure will hold back this shift of services in many areas. With commissioners knowing the opportunity, the content of the Darzi review and therefore direction of the government’s 10-year plan, it makes sense to start making the shift now.
- Stocktake the primary/community/public sector estate
- Undertake premises utilisation reviews
- Map the position on the shift to digital
- Invest wisely – considering future population health needs, and the shift of services
- Engage with clinicians and communities
- Empower patients – for example consider models such as group clinics
- Ask why services can’t be delivered in primary and community care
- Identify the blocks and plan to overcome them
- Plan a shift towards prevention of ill health
PCC is here to support primary and community services to thrive. In this edition of PCC Insight we help you get started by sharing information on premises utilisation review work, and other support we can provide – such as financial reviews to help practice resilience and inform future integrated care board investment decisions. We can facilitate sessions to help you imagine what could be possible and then plan how to engage effectively to start to make the transition.
The opportunity that is being presented for primary and community care is significant, commissioners need to start to plan now to make wise investments for the future. Contact enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk to discuss how we can support you.
