24.06.15
Public tells commissioners to prioritise elderly care and GP access
The public believe NHS commissioners should prioritise elderly care and weekend access to GPs according to a new survey conducted for the Health+Care and Commissioning Show, which opens today at the ExCel in London.
The results show that the public’s highest priorities are care for the elderly (57%) and access to GPs at weekends (54%), indicating support for greater access to seven day services.
The survey, conducted by YouGov, asked respondents what they considered to be the greatest priorities for the NHS over the next five years, choosing from:
- Care for the elderly
- Care closer to home
- Access to GPs at weekends
- Prevention
- Greater use of technology
- Other
- Don’t know
Dr Michael Dixon, chair of NHS Alliance and senior adviser to NHS Clinical Commissioners said: “In a week where the clinical voice has been loud, it is important that we listen as well as talk. The findings on elderly care support the Secretary of State's emphasis on personal care with an accountable clinician.
“Together with the public view that access to GPs at the weekend is also a high priority, this starts an important debate about the increased importance of primary care. Commissioners now need to explore exactly what sort of access patients actually want, and whether this is just for unscheduled conditions – and can be with any local GP thus preventing unnecessary hospital use – or whether patients and public are asking more than this at a time of limited manpower and resources.
“Funding streams also need review. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution; what works for my GP colleagues in Brixton won’t necessarily work for me in rural Devon, so we must take a pragmatic approach to implementation. Done sensibly we should expect to see some easing of pressure on emergency services.”
Health+Care was opened this morning by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP. Along with the Commissioning Show, for which NHE is the media partner, it is expected to bring together more than 8,000 health and social care providers and commissioners.
The survey results will be debated by some of health’s key influencers, policy makers and ministers including Alistair Burt MP, former care minister Norman Lamb MP, Philip Hunt MP, Ian Dodge (national director, commissioning strategy, NHS England) Samantha Jones (head of new models of care, NHS England) and Robert Varnham (head of general practice development, NHS England).
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