The Officer presented the report that described some of the challenges relating to the provision of general practitioner services in Thurrock and proposed two initiatives. The Officer stated these were the Strengthening of the Role of Patient Participation Groups and for a Long Term Condition General Practitioner Balanced Scorecard. The aim of the two initiatives was to improve the standards of clinical care provided by general practitioners locally.

The Officer stated that Thurrock had currently undeveloped Patient Participation Groups with even some general practitioners having yet to set up an effective patient participation group and others having got a poor level of engagement from their practice populations.

Public Health proposed to work with NHS Thurrock Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) and Thurrock HealthWatch to deliver a new programme Patient Participation at General Practitioner practice level.

The Officer stated that it was the intention that the Thurrock Healthcare Public Health Team would work with NHS Thurrock Clinical Commissioning Group’s Primary Care Development Team and the Clinical Commissioning Clinical Executive Group to create and agree a Long Term Conditions Management Balanced Score Card and individual tailored general practitioner practice reports. This would embed an effective tertiary prevention within Primary Care to ensure the maintenance of public health and reducing the growth in demand through emergency hospital admissions and adult social care packages. This would also ensure that local Health and Social Care remains financially and operationally sustainable.

Both of the initiatives would impact positively on local patients by ensuring that their voice was strengthened at general practitioner level and that their care would improve.

Councillor Halden stated that his Portfolio Holder report for full council had stated that general practitioners should be held to account and to raise expectation on what patients should expect from their general practitioners. He thanked Ian Wake for the complex work undertaken in the report.

Councillor Watkins thanked Ian Wake for the fantastic report that showed residents what services were provided and asked if the data would be regularly updated. Ian Wake stated that data would be extracted quarterly but asked Members to note that some general practitioners undertook clinical care, for example the flu jabs once a year which would influence the data results.

Councillor Watkins stated that the Head of the CCG, Dr Deshpande practice ratings were inadequate and asked Officers what action would be taken.

Mandy Ansell stated that there was no link between the primary care ratings and that of the role of the Chair of the CCG Board and could not comment further.

Ian Wake stated that the Public Health Grant had been used to boost the primary care development team to provide additional resource to embed best practice and his team were working closely with general practitioners.

Councillor Fish updated Members on those general practitioners who had retired and could now be removed from the appendix.

Mandy Ansell stated the proportion of Thurrock surgeries investigated by CQC was high and that Thurrock had been specifically focused upon.

Kim James stated that HealthWatch worked very closely with the CQC by reporting all incidents which were added to the database and had played a big part in the higher number of CQC visits. The Chair stated that residents should be encouraged to register all primary care incidents to HealthWatch.

Councillor Snell thanked Ian Wake for the good report and stated that a tool had never been available before to enable comparisons to be made. Councillor Snell stated his concern that the CQC ratings of general practitioners in Thurrock should not be used as a league table system.

Councillor Halden concluded by stating that it was not the aim of naming and shaming those general practitioners but to ensure that standards of all practices in Thurrock were improved.

RESOLVED

The Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee commented on the proposed two initiatives.