Interface Strategy

Introduction

Click to Reveal

In 2021, Humberside LMCs published our report on the interface between primary and secondary care. The report highlighted that general practice regularly received instructions to undertake the contractual work of secondary care. This included requests to make onward referrals, arrange tests and investigations, and to issue medications. The time associated with addressing these requests was equivalent to 270 clinical appointments per week. In May 2023, NHS England (NHSE) published their Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care which noted that up to 20% of GP time was spent resolving interface difficulties. Finally, in Humberside LMCs’ more recent interface survey (2023), general practitioners in the Humber region were found to spend up to 280 hours per week (1,867 appointments) trying to resolve interface difficulties at a cost of £4,076,800. This data does not include the wider general practice workforce. As well as wasting precious healthcare resources, interface difficulties have a profound impact on the morale of general practice staff.

The 2023 NHSE Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care placed significant emphasis on improving the interface between general practice and secondary care organisations. Thus, there is both a need, and a mandate, for improving the interface between general practice and other health and social care organisations. The following interface strategy aims to do this and has been developed in conjunction with the findings of Humberside LMCs 2023 interface survey. The strategy therefore reflects the local needs of general practice. These short and medium-term aims will provide the infrastructure needed to improve the interface between general practice and other health and social care organisations.

Practice engagement with
LMC interface services

Click to Reveal

Creation of a new interface webpage

The creation of a new standalone interface webpage on the Humberside LMCs website will make it easier for practice staff to find interface support. It will also make it easier to promote the interface work we are doing.

Create Promotional Material

In conjunction with the Communications Manager, we will create promotional material to e-mail to practices explaining what interface issues are currently being worked on, and how to raise new issues with the LMC and local system.

Attend events to engage with constituent practices

Attend a variety of events including the LMCs PM conference, GP update course and where appropriate PTL events to promote the interface support available to practices. If appropriate, deliver a short presentation to delegates.

Practice Visits

Plan practice visits throughout 2024/25 as capacity permits, to promote the interface services. Practice visits will particularly focus on North Lincolnshire where we have lower levels of engagement based on our survey results.

Mechanisms for resolving
interface difficulties

Click to Reveal

Resources to reduce common interface difficulties

Lobby HNY ICS to create a package of support for providers, and an implementation plan, to reduce low level but time-consuming interface difficulties identified in the Humberside LMCs interface report.

Improve interface links with community providers

The interface between community providers and general practice is underdeveloped but ranks in the top 3 organisations that generate interface related workload for our practices. We will work collaboratively with community colleagues to develop

Develop Interface Links with private providers

Private providers have no involvement in the existing interface workstreams but remain a source of interface difficulties, including workload shift, for practices. We will develop a mechanism for escalating interface difficulties with these providers.

Preventing interface difficulties

Click to Reveal

Support inter-organisation sharing of information

Develop forums for sharing information about interface difficulties with Place colleagues to maximise opportunities for resolving and preventing interface difficulties.

Rejection of work

Where inappropriate work transfers into general practice occur, we will support the GPs right to reject such work by providing contractual advice and champion the rights of general practice in meetings with providers.

Communication with key stakeholders

We will work with key stakeholders across the system to develop positive and constructive relationships to enable a proactive approach to identifying and avoiding interface difficulties.

Promote interface survey findings

To highlight the impact the interface difficulties have on clinical and non-clinical capacity, and encourage decisive action, we will promote the findings of our interface survey. We will circulate the report to key local and national colleagues and share it via our website.