NHS bosses in Somerset have laid out a dozen things they will do to improve the county’s struggling health services.

Patient satisfaction within the NHS across the UK has been declining since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with many people struggling to see their local GP, get a dentist appointment or use their local pharmacy.

NHS England has put together its ‘recovering access to primary care delivery plan’, which is intended to arrest this decline through 12 identified steps.

Somerset health bosses have now revealed how they intend to implement this plan, which will come before the Somerset Integrated Care Board for final approval before Christmas.

The Somerset Integrated Care System (which brings together GP practices, pharmacies, hospitals trusts and other relevant bodies) has laid out a mission statement for transforming front-line healthcare services in the coming years.

A spokesman said: “People in Somerset will experience primary care services that give them a warm welcome and are caring.

“People working in our primary care services will have the time and space to do a professional job, responding to what matters to patients

“Primary care services will be local, effective, and comprehensive, and people will be able to access care when they need it.”

Primary care services provide the first point of contact for patients, acting as the ‘front door’ of the NHS – and includes GPs, community pharmacies, dentists and optometry.

At a meeting of Somerset Council’s adult and health scrutiny committee in Taunton on Tuesday morning (September 12), the following 12 priorities were laid out by health officials:

  1. Increasing “self-care and self-directed care”, making it easier for patients to access services like weight management and podiatry without a time-consuming referral
  2. Expanding community pharmacy services to take the pressure off GPs and other front-line services, especially during the winter months
  3. Improving digital telephone services, meaning calls to GP surgeries are answered more quickly to prevent the “8am rush” for appointments
  4. Simplifying online access and request processes, making it easier for patients to book appointments, message healthcare officials and take part in online consultations rather than in-person appointments
  5. Increasing the use of the NHS app, in line with the wider national roll-up of its functions from October 31
  6. Improving the quality of appointment data, making it quicker and easier for people to be directed to the right service
  7. Encouraging GP surgeries to have “larger multi-disciplinary teams” on-site, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for health needs
  8. Recruiting more new doctors to replace retiring staff and increase capacity at a local level
  9. Retaining experienced GPs and encouraging those which have recently retired to return, even if only on a part-time or locum basis
  10. Placing a higher priority on primary care within new housing developments, with house-builders being asked to set aside funding early for new health premises or expanding existing sites
  11. Improving the interface between primary care and secondary care (which includes hospital care and mental health services), especially during the winter months
  12. Reducing administration to free up staff for more appointments

Councillor Gill Slocombe, who chairs the committee, said it was important to retain the services of older GPs as well as bringing new doctors to Somerset.

Ms Slocombe (who represent the Bridgwater West division) said: “Getting more doctors and the retention of experienced GPs is a really good way forward.

“We know that many GPs retire early. It’s not that the young doctors aren’t brilliant – they are, but the retention of that experience is key.”

Councillor Andrew Govier (Wellington) said that better triaging was needed so that people who most needed to see a GP were prioritised.

He said: “Quite a lot of people to go to GPs have a mental health problem, which doesn’t necessarily need to be seen by a GP. How are you going to address that?”

Sukeina Kassam, NHS Somerset’s deputy director of primary care and contracting, replied: “There is additional training for practices about improving access to medical facilities, making sure the staff at the front door are skilled enough to navigate people to the correct service.”

Councillor Martin Wale (Chard South) said that more work was needed to recruit full-time GPs, rather than relying on larger number of part-time staff.

He said: “Part of the problem with the retention of GPs is part-time working. It went into high drive a few years ago – is there any way of counteracting that?

“If you’ve got half your GPs working on part-time hours, you’ll have to double the number of GPs.”

Luke Best, NHS Somerset’s primary care development manager, responded that offering part-time positions frequently led to GPs working more hours after they first moved to the area.

He said: “General practice has always been one of those professions which has attracted people because of flexible working.

“Many may be written down as working part-time, but the hours they are putting in may be a great deal more than that. You may be able to attract more people by offering part-time working.”

Further details of the primary care recovery plan will be discussed by the Somerset Integrated Care Board on November 30.