Around 200,000 GP consultations every day are spend on non medical issues

Data from NHS Digital has shown that an estimated 1 in 5 appointments with a GP are for non-medical issues, such as loneliness or concerns people have with debt or housing.

As GPs, we always want to help how we can but there are times when we are not the right people to help. Non-medical issues are those times.

Issues which affect people’s everyday lives can impact health, particularly mental health, with worries over paying the bills or keeping a roof over your head. If someone’s health is being impacted then contacting your practice is the right thing to do. But it’s not the only thing to do – and we (sadly) do not have a magic wand.

Colleagues in social care or the wonderful charities which exist – particularly to advise on debt – can help address the causes of the symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia or problems caused by bad housing.

In primary care, we need to ensure we are seeing the right patients, at the right time and this should be based on clinical need. 

This might seem ‘easier said than done’, but it is possible – and quite easily, too, if we invest the time.

To do this properly, we need to look at historical appointment data and see if we are making the right decisions for our patients.

Data collated from GPs shows they are operating at an estimated 159% of capacity each day. That means they are working a 12+ hour day, often picking up outstanding tasks or filling in to make sure the minimum serviced is offered.

Ending the ‘washing machine of referrals’ by getting the right appointment first time

Jonathan Hammond-Williams, complex care lead at South West Ambulance Service, has an example of patients calling up to 35 times a month for an emergency ambulance.

'Patients are going round the 'washing machine of referrals'. It's about the ambulance service, 111, primary care, community trusts and emergency departments. The person is prescribed lots of medications and it doesn't really get to what is essentially the problem, which is often something that is social and personal to them.’

None of this is sustainable, nor is it in the best interests of patients. We can see from the declining GP numbers that it’s having an impact on both recruitment and retention in General Practice.

Something has to change.

We think that ‘something’ is making sure general practice can operate efficiently and effectively, using technology and data to provide an optimised service which allows staff to do their jobs and patients to get the help and advice they need, based on clinical priority. It can also help identify those ‘social’ problems where a patient needs to be signposted to a more appropriate service.

That patient-level understanding is essential to allow primary care to be a sustainable model and it’s the level of detail which a company would consider standard practice outside healthcare.

·      Who are your customers?

·      Where is the demand coming from?

·      How much does it cost you to provide that service?

·      Can you make improvements to your service?

·      Are there any blockages preventing you from delivering the best you can?

General Practice is a business. It needs to provide a good service to its patients and have a contented workforce to be sustainable.

So, practices need that information.

SmartFlow is a monthly patient level report of practice performance you receive every month giving you unique insights including call waiting times, frequent attenders and your GPAD dashboard.

If we are to improve patient outcomes and increase capacity and access based on clinical need, there needs to be a greater understanding of what is driving patient behaviour.

SmartFlow tells you the actual cost of providing services, broken down into clinical and administrative workload.

Is the reason your phonelines are always busy because there are repeat callers? How can we help them get what they need more quickly?  

Or are patients automatically being given appointments with a GP when another healthcare professional might be more appropriate?

SmartFlow identifies high service users by month, three month and year, providing information on their medical requirements including LTCs and medications to help you identify trends or anomalies.

It provides the insights you need to make changes for your staff and patients, helping you to transform your practice and focus on delivering optimum care to your patients and a great place to work for your staff.

To continue to serve our patients, we need to understand our patients and our practice. SmartFlow provides that information for you, allowing you to focus on providing timely, efficient care.