Mark Creelman, Locality Executive Director introduced the paper which had been shared with members.

Mark explained that the Primary Care Strategy was created due to a change in people’s needs and demands and presented opportunities around prevention and access across south west London. A Merton Plan to implement the strategy was also being developed. The aim was to have the best possible outcomes for people across south west London and for Merton residents so that they stay well, wrapping care around individuals who need it and streamlining access so that people get the right care from the right people.

A workshop took place in November which highlighted three main themes of prevention, proactive care and access. It was key to ensure the right workforce was in place and well supported to deliver outcomes. There would also be work to do on resident expectations, so that they were aware of services available outside of seeing a GP. Good digital access was important for residents, although it was recognised that not everyone had digital access, so a multi-channel approach was needed. IT was also an area of focus to ensure primary care had the right IT support to do the job. The other key area was estates, to help ensure the right buildings in the right state to provide good care.

South west London had strong primary care and scored well in the GP Survey, being top four in the country, with the only outstanding practice across south west London. There was already a multi-disciplined team in Merton, so it was important to ensure that they had the right people for the right cohorts of patients, which would be enhanced over the next few months. A record number of appointments had been delivered in primary care, which continued to grow on a monthly basis. It remained important to check that there was the right balance of face-to-face appointments and digital consultations.

In response to questions, the following was stated:

·      As part of the strategy, IT infrastructure had been identified as a

priority for people to have the right tools to do the right job, and experts would be involved in improving this.

·      Interest in the development of neighbourhood teams and how these integrated with other teams e.g. Family Hubs, health visitors.

·      An aim to move away from multiple organisations around the person to better sharing of information, with potential for shared teams and models.

·      Merton had a good foundation of multidisciplinary working through integrated locality teams with a particular focus on frailty.

·      Dentistry and Opticians would be part of the Strategy, but it was important to understand what the challenges were in each of those areas. This will be addressed further once there was a better understanding of what those challenges were.

·       Closer working with schools and children’s centres would be beneficial going forward, alongside multi-professional training at PCN level.

·      When working with young people, inclusivity remained vitally important to secure engagement.

·      An aim to streamline and simplify data as much as possible whilst protecting patient confidentiality.

RESOLVED: That the Board agreed the recommendations