According to BBC news, the NHS budget will receive an annual rise of 3.5% between now and 2023, with the overall focus of the long-term plan being prevention.
The NHS have stated that the plan would prevent “150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases” whilst also suggesting the plan will enable 345,000 children and young people to get the mental health support they need.
The long-term plan has received much criticism with many a reference to the current staffing shortages experienced across the NHS, some reports referring to such shortages as a crisis. There is indeed a crisis in primary care, with many practices heavily reliant on locum GPs in order to meet patient demand; this is not sustainable in the long-term and maybe the focus of the plan should have been staffing and training?
Given the current shortages of staff in general practice and the continuing rise in vacancies, coupled with the number of GPs seriously considering reducing their hours or leaving general practice, it is hard to see how the long-term plan will be delivered unless action is taken to retain staff across all disciplines.
Our blog in December referred to the workforce crisis affecting general practice and cited the use of a diverse multidisciplinary team as a means of overcoming the current crisis. As the long-term plan focuses on prevention, it is indeed time for your practice to make changes to ensure you are prepared to meet the ever increasing patient demand.
At PCMS, we have extensive experience in workforce planning and implementing change, introducing and embedding allied health professionals into the practice team effectively to ensure the needs of the patient are met.
Can you afford not to consider changing your practice in order to avoid a staffing crisis? PCMS can help you help your patients, by leading change through innovation. Contact us today for more information.