Primary Care 2023 - Part One

Primary Care and the wider NHS is in the worst position it's ever been in. Crisis, chaos and collapse are consistently used to describe the situation. So as we start a New Year we asked the team at Venn Health what they thought 2023 would look like for primary care and what primary care should be doing.

This is the first part of those two questions.

What can primary care expect in 2023?

We had two summaries of what to expect that may not be optimistic but they are undoubtedly accurate;

“I think 2023 is more of the same with potentially less money available.”

“There has been little policy statement from the most recent Health Minister who will be pre-occupied with A & E pressures however I expect that there will be an expectation for Primary Care to step up to the plate to support. Equally as ICBs begin to settle in there will no doubt be regional variations around what Primary Care is expected to do. Another tough year is anticipated.”

Digging into a bit more detail the team had some thoughts on the big areas.

Excessive demand and workload will continue to be a problem.

“Demand and workload will continue at these high levels, leading to problems of safety, quality and sustainability.”

“There’ll be a growing demand for health care services due to the aging population and the backlogs of the last few years.”

Continuing workforce shortages will require new solutions.

“Workforce will still be a huge problem and we’ll need to further embrace and accelerate new roles, different ways of working.”

Technology will play a bigger part and will have a broader role.

“Retention and recruitment issues will mean we will have to look to the adoption of new technologies to improve efficiency and deliver care.”

“We’ll see an increase in the use of digital technology to better serve patients. This will include the use of telemedicine, expanded access to patient records, and the implementation of artificial intelligence to assist in diagnosis and treatment.”

Primary Care must continue to collaborate and with more and new partners.

“Collaboration and integration will continue to be the direction. Likely driven by the NHS, contracts, policy and requirements.”

“There will be a need for better integration of primary care services with other health care providers and services.”

“Expect more collaborative working between different healthcare providers.”

We’ll see a greater emphasis on prevention and education.

“There will be an increased focus on preventative care, with more emphasis on health education and helping patients make healthier lifestyle choices.”

We know primary care is in a place where the problems are complex and overwhelming. We also believe that all is not lost and that there are solutions, changes and improvements are available.

Sometimes, a little help is needed to find them at make them work, contact@vennhealth.co.uk