GP and Primary Care issues
GP Practices in Brighton and Hove have been a major issue of concern over that last few years. In particular the closure of seven practices. There are now only two practices registering new patients in the city. There is a shortage of GPs locally, and practices find it hard to recruit. There are now plans to merge the 40+ GP practices across the city into 6 large hubs. You can use the template letter below to share your concerns with your own GP.
Discontinuity of Care
Do you like to see the same GP or Practice team? Did you choose a surgery close to home?
Most GPs would rather have their own list of patients. A good doctor / patient relationship is valued by both the doctor and the patient. The evidence shows that patients do better when they see the same GP.
This continuity of care is now under threat. The government’s “sustainability and transformation plans” (STPs) will see GP surgeries in Brighton and Hove merged into 6 hubs. Patients will have further to travel. Appointments will be with one of a larger number of practitioners. The current shortage of GPs, both locally and nationally, the government proposes to solve with Physician Assistants. These will be people with just 2 years medical training. Targets are being set to limit the number of patients GPs can send for further treatment. These changes are CUTS, RATIONING OF TREATMENT and DISCONTINUITY OF CARE.
We are asking you to write to your GP about these concerns. We have a draft of a letter you can use to get you started. Our letters will support GPs in standing up for the NHS we believe in: a good local GP, close to home, and the confidence that you will be referred for appropriate treatment based on need and not financial considerations.
Let’s try to save continuity of care.
Here are some suggestions you might like to include in your letter to your GP
Dear Dr .....
I am writing to thank you for all the care I have received from your team, since becoming your patient.
I'm concerned about the lack of investment in primary care over the last ten years which has got us where we are now.
I fear that the Sustainability and Transformation Plans will lead to further cuts and rationing of treatment.
I want to continue being your patient. I don't want to have to travel further afield, or to see someone unfamiliar about my health issues.
I'm sure that patients fare better with continuity of care, especially as patients get older.
I feel that every patient, like me, would prefer to see the same team of GPs at a surgery close to their home, and know that the appropriate treatment will be available when they require it.
I hope that you will pass my views to the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the current managers of the NHS.
Yours sincerely,
Here are a few further suggestions - pick and mix - so no two letters will be the same
I’m concerned about the lack of investment in primary care (as well as the NHS as a whole), which has led to surgeries closing and more work being piled onto GPs.
I fear that the Sustainability and Transformation Plans will lead to cuts and rationing of treatment and to local surgeries moving away to central locations.
I am very worried that we are already short of GPs and training places remain unfilled, and now more work is going to be transferred into primary care.
I am very concerned that when the NHS is under such huge financial constraints, money is going to be wasted by the reorganising of surgeries and by the commissioning of private companies who will divert money from healthcare to profit for shareholders.
I would like to know the evidence base for the STP proposals.
I feel the cuts and rationing of treatment will undermine the trust patients have in their GP.
Most GPs would rather have their own list of patients. A good doctor / patient relationship is valued by both the doctor and the patient. The evidence shows that patients do better when they see the same GP.
This continuity of care is now under threat. The government’s “sustainability and transformation plans” (STPs) will see GP surgeries in Brighton and Hove merged into 6 hubs. Patients will have further to travel. Appointments will be with one of a larger number of practitioners. The current shortage of GPs, both locally and nationally, the government proposes to solve with Physician Assistants. These will be people with just 2 years medical training. Targets are being set to limit the number of patients GPs can send for further treatment. These changes are CUTS, RATIONING OF TREATMENT and DISCONTINUITY OF CARE.
We are asking you to write to your GP about these concerns. We have a draft of a letter you can use to get you started. Our letters will support GPs in standing up for the NHS we believe in: a good local GP, close to home, and the confidence that you will be referred for appropriate treatment based on need and not financial considerations.
Let’s try to save continuity of care.
Here are some suggestions you might like to include in your letter to your GP
Dear Dr .....
I am writing to thank you for all the care I have received from your team, since becoming your patient.
I'm concerned about the lack of investment in primary care over the last ten years which has got us where we are now.
I fear that the Sustainability and Transformation Plans will lead to further cuts and rationing of treatment.
I want to continue being your patient. I don't want to have to travel further afield, or to see someone unfamiliar about my health issues.
I'm sure that patients fare better with continuity of care, especially as patients get older.
I feel that every patient, like me, would prefer to see the same team of GPs at a surgery close to their home, and know that the appropriate treatment will be available when they require it.
I hope that you will pass my views to the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the current managers of the NHS.
Yours sincerely,
Here are a few further suggestions - pick and mix - so no two letters will be the same
I’m concerned about the lack of investment in primary care (as well as the NHS as a whole), which has led to surgeries closing and more work being piled onto GPs.
I fear that the Sustainability and Transformation Plans will lead to cuts and rationing of treatment and to local surgeries moving away to central locations.
I am very worried that we are already short of GPs and training places remain unfilled, and now more work is going to be transferred into primary care.
I am very concerned that when the NHS is under such huge financial constraints, money is going to be wasted by the reorganising of surgeries and by the commissioning of private companies who will divert money from healthcare to profit for shareholders.
I would like to know the evidence base for the STP proposals.
I feel the cuts and rationing of treatment will undermine the trust patients have in their GP.
