Report on GP patient access launching at Labour Party conference

Nursing in Practice and its publishers Cogora will launch a major report on GP access during an event at the Labour Party Conference early next week.

The event, held in conjunction with Rebuild General Practice, will take place at a fringe event in Liverpool at 10am on Monday 29 September, and will be attended by MPs and primary care professional leaders.

The report has involved a survey of 2,000 primary care professionals, interviews with more than 100 and data analysis of more than 20 sets of NHS data on every practice in England.

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It is hoped that the report will influence major GP contract negotiations in England.

The report looks at how general practice access has become the major issue within health, and one of the biggest political imperatives in general, which has heaped pressure on GP practices.

It analyses the biggest issues for GP teams and patients around access, what policymakers have done and whether these initiatives have been successful.

The paper found that the majority of the measures around good access are predominantly depending on systemic issues, such as funding, recruitment, deprivation and patient demographics.

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It concludes with a series of recommendations about what policymakers need to do to ensure better quality care for patients, and improve the working conditions of general practice staff.

The launch event will involve a panel discussion with Pulse editor in chief Jaimie Kaffash, GPC England deputy chair Dr Samira Anane, Dr Simon Opher, GP and MP for Stroud, Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, GP and CEO of Londonwide LMCs and Rosie Beacon, research manager and head of health, Re:State.

If you would like to attend the event, you can register here: https://invtdu.to/_9o368.

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Jaimie Kaffash said: ‘Access is the biggest issue for patients, politicians and general practice staff. Yet there are misunderstandings around what good access is, and the drivers for it. This report is focused on the people who deal with access every day – general practice staff. They understand patients’ frustrations, and they know the barriers to improving access.  I hope that this report can help improve matters for general practice professionals and patients alike.’