A new LMC report has highlighted the cost to the NHS of problems with the interface between primary care and secondary care providers in the Humber region.
The publication, Over £4,000,000 Per Year: Exploring the Burden of Interface Difficulties for General Practice in Humberside, estimates that this is the amount of NHS funding consumed due to difficulties in the way primary and secondary care work together.
The report is based on responses to an LMC survey from GPs and practice staff in the Humber region.
Evidence in the report points to the administrative, clinical, and economic burden of interface difficulties in general practice. Poor communication and inappropriate work requests are common sources of problems, resulting in un-resourced, unnecessary, and avoidable activity that drains clinical capacity within general practice and the wider healthcare system.
The report points to an estimated 6,600 interface problems per month which the Humber area’s GP workforce have to deal with – time and resources which could be better spent on patient care when the NHS is under such pressure. Problems reported include:
- Poor communication, such as patients not being made aware of test results
- Inappropriate transfer of work, with GPs being asked to initiate onward referrals, follow-up tests and investigations, and provide MED3 certificates.
- Referrals, with some providers rejecting referrals inappropriately or making unreasonable requests before referrals can be made.
Dr Zoe Norris, Chief Executive Medical Director at Humberside LMC, says:
“Problems with the interface between primary and secondary care place a huge burden on general practice, with GPs in the Humber area having to spend around 280 hours resolving interface difficulties each week. That equates to over £4million in the cost of wasted time for our hard-working general practice workforce.”
“We’re calling for a renewed focus at system-wide level to tackle the interface burden, with action to eliminate the common interface problems which the report highlights.”
“Despite the problems highlighted we hope that, through shining a light on these issues, all of us working in primary care and the wider NHS will be able to reduce the unnecessary burden of unresourced work arising from interface issues.”
Comments are closed.