Issue - items at meetings - GP Services

Information provided by NHS Brighton & Hove on city GP practice performance. Kathy Felton, NHS Brighton & Hove, and Dr Christa Beesley, a city GP, will be present to answer members’ questions (copy attached)

54.1    This item was introduced by Dr Christa Beesley, a local GP, and by Ms Kathy Felton, NHS Brighton & Hove.

54.2    Dr Beesley detailed the ways in which patient feedback (via the national patient survey, local practice surveys, comments left on the NHS Choices website, practice and condition-based patient groups, and the analysis of patient complaints and comments) is used to improve city GP services.

54.3    Generally, satisfaction with city GPs is very high, but there are some areas for improvement. These include: problems encountered trying to contact GP surgeries by phone, difficulty in getting quick access to GP services; problems in booking planned appointments, and significant variations in GP practice quality across the city.

54.4    In response to a question from the Chairman on plans to develop GP peer appraisal, Dr Beesley told members that she envisaged that the local GP consortium would seek to work with all member GP practices to improve performance. This will presumably involve close working with the national NHS Commissioning Board, which will be responsible for managing GP contracts, but the details of this are still being determined.

54.5    In answer to a question from Cllr Marsh about satisfaction with GP opening hours, Dr Beesley told members that dissatisfaction generally centred upon the lack of GP services available on Saturday mornings. However, GPs are not contractually obliged to themselves provide weekend services (these are covered by Out of Hours services) and it seems very unlikely that many would choose to do so voluntarily. Ms Felton added that many GP practices do provide extended week-day services, but that the national funding for these services has been ended. NHS Brighton & Hove will therefore have to consider whether it can support these services in the future.

54.6    In response to a question on GP services for people with learning disabilities, Ms Felton told members that only one city GP practice did not provide enhanced services for learning disabled patients.

54.7    The Chairman thanked Dr Beesley and Ms Felton for their contributions.