It has been well documented in the news recently that health services across both primary and secondary care are under siege at the moment and the situation is likely to get worse. According to GP Online more than two out of three GPs say their practice will struggle to cope this winter, amid warnings that seasonal pressure on top of what the BMA has called a ‘year-round NHS crisis’ will put patients at risk.
Attempts to ease winter pressures by taking on more staff, increasing flu vaccinations or replacing many pre-booked appointments with same-day or urgent appointments might help a little but if workloads are increased by a flu epidemic some fear their out-of-hours service would go into meltdown.
GPC chair Dr Richard Vautrey said CCGs ‘with any sense’ would realise that a share of the £335m winter pressures funding announced in the government’s 2017 budget must go to primary care. Dr Vautrey said: “They need to use the funding where they will get the best value – and that is likely to be in community services.” But GPC professional fees committee chair Dr Peter Holden warned that ‘crumbs, if that’ from the £335m winter funding allocation would reach primary care.
Instead, the situation is likely to be made worse as hospitals try to free up beds by discharging patients too early and expecting general practice to manage them at home.
All of this is happening against the backdrop of the equitable funding changes which have been introduced to reduce the geographical variation in core funding per patient and are likely to have a profound effect on practice income for many who are already operating at the limit of their resources.
Practices facing reductions to their core contract funding will need to evolve and consider economies of scale simply to maintain levels of access and their range of patient services. Opportunities for diversification and entrepreneurial behaviour, particularly in accessing different sources of income, will be increasingly necessary as a means for survival.
The sooner practices adapt to counter the changes in primary care, the more chance they will have of protecting themselves against new emerging threats and making the most of any opportunities that may present themselves.
In such a challenging climate, management of day to day issues like procurement can seem like a lot of effort for not much gain. But some organisations such as Sue Ryder have taken a co-ordinated approach in collaboration with Expense Reduction Analysts and managed to wipe more than 20% off their core base making them more resilient.
There are a number of issues that should be considered when reviewing the cost of medical equipment. Of paramount importance is product knowledge in order to ensure like for like quality is achieved that will maintain standards of care and retain patient safety and dignity. By being able to work with a consultant who is a registered nurse with an clinical procurement background, not only is product knowledge assured, but all work is carried out in a way that enshrines the notion of ‘duty of care’.
In addition we can identify areas where innovative products may improve your bottom line, review your compliance with regard to clinical risk management and report savings realised on a site be site basis so that you know exactly where to concentrate your efforts. Why not get in touch with us today for more information?
Article by: Debjani Duncan