NHS promises better access to GP services

What is the primary care recovery plan?

The primary care recovery plan sets out how the NHS aims to address some of the pressures facing GPs and other services.

The main pressure the plan aims to tackle is the issue of access, which has been a growing concern since the pandemic.

How has your feedback helped?

Thanks to everyone who's shared feedback with Healthwatch over the past year, Healthwatch England have published several reports and recommendations. They've called on the NHS to make specific changes to improve services, based on what you told us needed to happen.

What changes can we expect to see?

The primary care recovery plan aims to make improvements across several areas. The plan promises:

• Easier access to GP practices through better care navigation expands the reception team's role. Healthwatch England called for this change in our work on GP referrals.
• Updates and improvements to the NHS app. These will make it easier for people to view their records (including test results), order repeat prescriptions and manage routine appointments. Healthwatch England made these recommendations in their report on elective care
• Better continuity of care through improved data collection and highlighting the importance of two-way communications with clinicians. These are things Healthwatch England highlighted in their work on elective care in 2022.
• An ambition to make it easier for everyone to contact their local GP practice in the way they prefer. Healthwatch England have consistently called on the NHS for meaningful choice and highlighted the importance of communication preferences in their work on GP referrals, the Accessible Information Standard and GP access.
• To allow secondary care providers to make onward referrals for those already referred into their care, rather than being sent back to their GP to start the process again. Healthwatch England called for better use of consultant-to-consultant referrals in their work published in April 2023
• To incentivise practices to refine their General Practice Appointments Data. This will lead to more accurate tracking of appointments and who is delivering them. Healthwatch England called for the NHS to improve data collection and management in their 2022 elective care report.