GP Surgery Commissioning Patient Impact Report, Plymouth

The report considers the impact to patients registered at 3 GP Surgeries if services are not re-commissioned post March 2017 with a socio-demographic profile for each as well as direct feedback from patients. Each of the three surgeries are located in inner city neighbourhoods (Devonport, Stoke and Mutley), each with its own unique characteristics.

Healthwatch Plymouth approached by NHS England South (South West) in early June 2016 to discuss possible engagement process around future commissioning intentions for 6 existing GP Surgeries in Plymouth as well as an additional new GP service being considered. Healthwatch advised on ways to engage with patients meaningfully and in a timely way.

Conclusions

Healthwatch did not feel that the engagement plan for the 3 surgeries was well considered.

• Information provided had inconsistencies and potentially misleading.

• Delays in delivery of patient letters and timing of events led to anger about the process.

• Data inconsistencies during the process, e.g., data provided at the beginning of the process shows list size information from 2014, but is quoted as being from 2016. Potential to be considered misleading.

• Substantial concerns around health inequalities increasing and reduced access to GP services raised, especially from extremely vulnerable groups.

• Risks in additional pressures on Accident and Emergency services or other crisis based provision.

• Equally with the recent closure of 2 other surgeries in 2015, plus the imminent rise in the student population, concern that there is potential for insufficient GP capacity to support this patient increase as well as providing health care access to services that support vulnerable adults. The Equality Impact Assessment does not address this sufficiently.

Recommendations

• Further engagement activity with patients and agencies conducted to fully inform the Equality Impact Assessment for each Surgery.

• Robust future engagement activity. Consideration to issues that could significantly pose challenges in its delivery. Challenges include delay in letters, notification of additional engagement opportunities and patient expectations of engagement.

• Patient letters should contain the most up to date information to avoid being considered as misleading, clarity of purpose of engagement leading to an unambiguous understanding of the event.

• Equality impact statements must use multiple sources and the most accurate available data to ensure they cannot be construed as biased or misleading.