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Any comments on the state of Primary Care within the NHS as outlined here?

5 replies

PacificDogwood · 15/05/2014 21:14

"RCGP chairman Prof Clare Gerada, said: ‘The NHS is changing, general practice is changing, patients are living longer with long term and multiple conditions, and health inequalities are growing, so we must step up and meet the challenges ahead.

‘This vision outlines ways in which to provide easier access to a more flexible and integrated system of primary care that will benefit our patients immensely. It maps out a way for patients to receive the best possible care in and out of hours from the start to the end of their lives.

‘As GPs change, so must the role of patients and so it is important to promote healthy lifestyles, increase health literacy and encourage self-care as we move forward with limited resources and increasing demand for services.’

She added: ‘Most importantly, none of this vision will become reality if we do not receive fairer investment for general practice. If GPs, who do 90% of NHS work for 9% of the budget, are not properly funded then much of this new vision will not be achievable. {my highlight}

‘Innovation and reform are vital but must be underpinned by investment. The Government must recognise that general practice is the most cost effective way of providing care and act accordingly, by urgently reversing the real terms decline in the amount of money that general practice receives.’"
(from here )

And yes, I have a vested interest - as a professional and as a patient.

From my perspective, I work twice as hard for less money under worse conditions and with less options for my patients Angry, many of which have higher expectations at least partially because politicians pander to the electorate rather than spelling out that a finite pot of money + ageing population + more expensive medicine = more cuts at times of economic hardship.

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PacificDogwood · 16/05/2014 10:01

Ya cannae tell me ya'll don't care! Wink

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PacificDogwood · 16/05/2014 22:16

Ok, I'll just chat to myself.

I think this is really important to get everybody to understand: 90% of patient contacts in the NHS are done by GPs for a small fraction of the money.

I know the privatisation of the NHS is well under way and IMO market forces and rules just don't work for a situation in which contact are between distress and unwell or 'just' worried people and HCP who work within v narrow margin and v tight rules while politicians promise the earth Angry

I wish the NHS (which is a fantastic institution and will only be truly appreciated when it's gone) was taken out of the hands to people who will always say what they think their voters want to hear Hmm

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LaVolcan · 17/05/2014 23:01

I'm listening Pacific but I think that it's hard to get the message across. The spanking new hospital, or the expensive drug gets all the publicity. The crisis which doesn't happen or the illness avoided by diet or lifestyle changes doesn't get noticed.

It's the same with a lot of jobs though - the person who flaps around, causes a crisis, and then solves it with great fanfare gets credit. The quietly effective person who doesn't cause problems in the first place gets overlooked.

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PacificDogwood · 18/05/2014 21:38

Oh thanks Smile

I felt brave and reposted the whole thing in AIBU, but it's not exactly setting the world on fire… Grin

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zelda200 · 02/11/2014 10:43

Hi PacificDogwood - you might already know about the National Health Action Party - nhap.org - who are fighting to protect our NHS and get more funding, esp for the issue you mention.

The NHA are fielding some candidates in the general election - perhaps in your constituency? - and need people to raise awareness, donate money and offer volunteer help.

There's also a new film coming out - see selloff.org.uk - that you might be interested in. It'll be released on YouTube soon, and needs people to spread the word/ organise viewings, so more people know what's going on.

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