Many areas across the region are already delivering this new approach that supports the need to address changing patient expectations and patterns of demand, and optimise the routes of access now that there are digital tools in place and alongside a wider primary care team to deliver. The modern general practice model  is a way of organising work in general practice to help enable practices to continue to provide fair and safe care in the context of increased demand, while also supporting the sustainability of services and an improved experience for both patients and staff. This model is a way of organising work in general practice that enables practices to:

• see all patient need, by providing inclusive, straightforward online and telephone access
• understand all need through structured information gathering
• prioritise and allocate need safely and equitably (including continuity of care)
• make best use of other primary care services and the multi-professional team
• improve the efficiency of processes and reduce duplication

A good starting point is to understand what is happening with appointments as opposed to what is perceived to be happening. Data and evidence can inform and influence discussions from decision-making within the practice. Data can be collected from telephone calls, online consultation systems, and appointment systems.

For example, appointment types that occur on Mondays, which are usually assumed to be the busiest day, can be analysed to provide insights on patient needs so that practices can look to schedule staff accordingly. Another common way of finding demand and capacity data is through the slot type in the appointment book, which might be through a GP Demand and Capacity Planning Tool or the practice clinical system. If slot types are used correctly, they reflect the type of work done, as well as times associated with and taken for the work.

GPAD, Online Consultation, and Telephony Data can all help understand what activity looks like, and clinical systems may have workload tools that can help see patterns of demand versus capacity. Demand and capacity tools provided by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) can further highlight these trends and support operational decision-making.

Alongside this, here you will find a great example of how a ICB in the region has developed their own GP Development programme to help support their practices to move forward to a modern general practice approach.

Benefits for GP practice are:

• can provide data to support decision-making within the practice
• allocate resources and better manage workload across the day, week and year
• identify what type of patient need goes where (to other services, type of healthcare professional)
• improve care navigation, reduce avoidable appointments and remove duplication of work for patients and staff
• understand the volume of need to inform capacity and skill mix requirements and provide intelligence on how to distribute available capacity
• understand how much demand is same-day demand versus routine demand (and understand variation by day of the week)
• supports planning appointment books and avoids clinicians needing to squeeze in ‘urgent extras’
• helps to articulate in a more timely and accurate manner the pressures faced by general practice, which, along with potentially identifying public health issues at an earlier stage, also facilitates the provision of external support in a more responsive way
• reduces the number of patients who need to contact the practice for further follow-up or clarification

Benefits for patients are:

• appointments are allocated based on clinical need and prioritisation rather than first come, first served
• more routine appointments available to book directly
• patients directed to appropriate modality for their needs and gets them to the right service the first time
• service offers can be tailored to better match demand

Here you can find an animation for a model approach that a practice in the South East Region is delivering in order to recover their access to primary.

Alongside this, here you will find a great example of how a ICB in the region has developed their own GP Development programme to help support their practices to move forward to a modern general practice approach.

Resources

Modern general practice ‘how to’ guides support practices moving to a modern general practice model. These guides include quick wins and tips from practices who have implemented this model and can be found on the NHS England website under Online resources and guidance on modern general practice.

How to align capacity with demand in general practice

The How to align capacity with demand in general practice guide is for general practice teams who are seeking to better understand, manage and better align demand and capacity in their practice.  This guide is accompanied by a PDF document and a series of supporting diagnostic tools to use in your work, including an action planning template and a key questions template for each component of the guide.

Case Studies for Modern General Practice

Many areas across the South East have developed new ways of working aligned with Modern General Practice working. Below you can find some of the case studies produced to help support you in your journey.

• Animation – Meet the General Practice Care Navigation Receptionist supporting patients to get the care they need
• Same Day Access Model – Acute Care Team Woodley Centre Surgery – Berkshire Oxfordshire & Berkshire West ICB 
• The Clinical Hub – Light House surgery – Sussex ICB 
• PCN HUB Pilot – Folkestone Hythe & Rural PCN – Kent & Medway ICB 
• Clinical Signposting – St Lawrence Surgery – Sussex ICB 
• A Population Health Approach – Foundry PCN – Sussex ICB 
• Recovering Access to Primary Care – Fitzalan Medical Centre – Sussex ICB
• General Practice Development Toolkit – Surrey Heartlands ICB 
• General Practice Opel Reporting – Surrey Heartlands ICB

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