NHS Devon ICB has shared an update on its Primary Care Access Recovery Plan (PCARP), highlighting “good progress” on delivery, a focus on tackling variation, and a potential saving of £19 million through digital advancements.
“Devon continues to make good progress with the delivery of the PCARP and is in a strong position regionally and nationally,” the update states. “Performance is far ahead of the target to deliver 4% more appointments compared to pre-Covid levels, with levels 14% of Aug 2024. We are really starting to see the impact of the programme in terms of patients and staff benefits.”
According to this latest update from Devon ICB, patients in 82.9 percent of practices are now able to view their records and practice messages using the NHS app, whilst 95.8 percent of practices have enabled online appointment booking, and 100 percent have activated functionality for ordering repeat prescriptions. 100 percent of practices are also reported to be using cloud-based telephony, whilst the ICS has delivered “over 650,000 online and video consultations per year” in line with requirements for modern general practice.
The ICB also shares positive impacts from objectives to improve population health and services, reduce unwarranted variation, and make “more efficient use” of resources, including an increase in collaborative working across the system, the maximising of digital opportunities to improve efficiency in primary care, and the reduction in variation of access to primary care services. “Digital transformation in primary care is key focus of PCARP,” the update notes, “as well as utilising data analysis from practice systems and national data streams.”
One area identified for improvement is variation, the update continues, vowing to utilise national data and local intelligence to understand unwarranted variation “across access, workforce and quality domains”, and to “tailor support offers to proactively address the performance, resilience and sustainability of our practices.”
RAG ratings are then provided for each of the actions set out for the PCARP, with increased use of the NHS app and digital channels for patient access, the expansion of self-referrals, the implementation of digital telephony, national transformation/improvement support for general practice and systems, and online registration for all practices, all reported as “green”.
Elsewhere, the ICB observes progress on delivering “significant efficiencies” and ensuring “consistency in business processes” across the system using tech and digital tools, granting an “amber” rating for being “on track”, and noting an aim to utilise these tools to save “£19 million over five years”.
To download and read the update in full, please click here.
Modern general practice: wider trend
A panel discussion on how general practice, PCNs, and ICBs can utilise data and leverage technology to support operational efficiencies and improvements across primary care, saw HTN joined by experts including Kathryn Salt, assistant director of primary & community care, data and analytics for the Transformation Directorate, NHS England; Dr Shanker Vijayadeva, GP lead, digital transformation for the London region at NHS England; Dr Sheikh Mateen Ellahi, GP and practice partner at ELM Tree Surgery and South Stockton Primary Care Network; and Max Gattlin, digital consultant at X-on Health.
An update from Mid and South Essex ICB highlighted the impact of digital tools and data in supporting a number of different projects and priorities, including total triage, whole system stewardship, modern general practice, emergency preparedness, resilience and response, and more. In the area of primary care, highlights from the Primary Care and Alliance Report noted “significant rollout of increased digital tools” that support the total triage approach, as well as “significant progress” in the use of digital tools in general, with “136/145 practices using AccuRx (including 65% using Floreys, 90% using SMS and 48% using booking functions)”, and with “the majority of practices” in the region regularly using tools such as eConsult and Patchs.
Elsewhere, NHS Kent and Medway’s five-year primary care strategy has been published, with a focus on improving access through digital front doors, increased use of the NHS app, and digital appointment systems. It highlights same day access hubs, online consultations, cloud telephony, care navigation and triage, and access to self-care, with key enablers including workforce, estates, digital technology, and communications.
Don’t forget to join us for the upcoming HTN Primary Care Awards, which will recognise, share and celebrate how digital solutions are transforming the primary care sector, including GP practices, primary care networks, integrated care boards and suppliers. Providing a platform for sharing innovations, case studies, collaborations and solutions which have made a difference, the awards programme shines a light on the hard work and breadth of innovative thinking across primary care.
