More Than Numbers: Why Continuity of Care Matters in Primary Care

The continued drive to squeeze more and more out of General Practice shows no signs of abating with the publication of February's appointment data and the Primary care minister's comments seemingly indicating that quality isn't currently a significant consideration, despite the quality and safety of services being a stated priority for the NHS in 2024/25.

Anyone who has worked with me will know how important productivity is to me, particularly in tax payer funded services, and my belief that there is huge scope across the NHS to make significant improvements that not only improve efficiency but also enhance safe and high quality patient care. However the seemingly endless drive to provide more appointments is at odds with the provision of continuity of care where there is growing evidence of the positive impact on patient care, the length of gaps between follow up appointments (thus creating more capacity) and, crucially, workforce retention.

This great piece of work from Steven Wyatt for the Midlands Decision Support Network presents a compelling case for how changes to national policy could improve continuity of care, reduce demand and make the problem of GP recruitment and retention more tractable.

https://lnkd.in/exuqWFdt

#NHS #primarycare #productivity #qualityofcare #continuityofcare #patientoutcomes #gpretention