Primary care

At a critical time of system pressure throughout the pandemic, our primary care team has supported partner organisations to drive service improvements in patient care and health outcomes through the adoption and evaluation of new technologies.

What was delivered in 2021-22? 

• Collaborated with Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW) ICS to map the local long-term condition priorities and the self-care technology needs in primary care to run demonstrator sites for potential solutions, and evaluate and scale up those with the most provable system-wide benefits and patient impact.

• Supported the development and evaluation of an innovative new building for St Clements Surgery in Winchester, to create the sustainable facilities needed for the future of care. We supported horizon scanning and innovations relevant to general practice, assessing the impact of GPs increased digital-first focus and different ways of working.

• Identified innovative solutions in telehealth, telemedicine, telecoaching and self-care for patients with long-term conditions. Implemented a range of self-management tools including mental health and weight management digital programmes through the Primary Care Demonstrator Site programme.

• In six months, 200 patients across 11 primary care practices were supported by practice staff trained in digital weight management, and ten GP surgeries referred patients to Be Mindful, an online cognitive behavioural therapy mindfulness course.

• Implemented and independently evaluated a teledermatology platform, Dermicus Mole, across all 12 primary care practices on the Isle of Wight. The technology was evaluated to determine its clinical fitness for purpose in primary care, patient benefit, cost efficiency for the local NHS Trust and potential 88% reduction in unnecessary referrals to secondary care.

• Supported practices with data visualisation through the PCDS programme, looking at demand and capacity and how the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) supports working in different ways. We studied how a practice of the future would look and advised on enhancements to:
• waiting areas
• flexibility within a practice
• staff wellbeing.

• We held workforce rapid insight workshops and a patient engagement session to provide insights for several primary care innovations and help deliver service improvements.