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The speed and efficiency with which the COVID vaccination programme has scaled up has been exceptional; however the NHS as a whole, and Primary Care in particular, face huge challenges in meeting patient demands following the upheaval in care provision over the past 12 months.
With the recent confirmation of the link between obesity and high death rates, the UK’s track record on encouraging individuals to attain a healthy weight is under the spotlight. But there are so many areas of care that have been affected by the pandemic. Analysis of The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a Cegedim database, reveals the huge deficit in patient care across all therapy areas: from diabetes to heart disease, chronic kidney disease to mental health, THIN confirms a drop in encounters, health checks, blood tests and diagnoses during 2020, when compared to previous years.
Escalating Demand
As the vaccination continues and normal life starts again, these patients will require care. But clearly GP practices cannot simply open the doors and deal with all these patients immediately. Care will have to be prioritised. With patients – especially those with post-vaccine confidence - increasingly demanding a return to pre-pandemic face to face interactions, the efficiency gains achieved through triage and telemedicine could be lost. A blended care model will remain, but it will need to evolve to support changing patient and GP expectations.
For CCGs and PCNs, there is a pressing need not only to effectively manage the vaccination programme but also understand the impact of the pandemic at a population health level in order to prioritise activity. There are clear opportunities to build on the shared service models that have been key to meeting the vaccination challenges to deliver targeted support and services for specific patient cohorts – but what is the best approach to delivering those services and how can patient access be accelerated and managed?
Primary Care Services are at a critical stage – which is one of the reasons NHSX continues to outline a raft of new demands for a COVID Vaccination Point of Care solution in response to the programme’s continually evolving needs. In addition to meeting these defined requirements, Cegedim is building on our knowledge and expertise to deliver a solution that will support clinicians in managing Primary Care demand going forward.
Managing Change
Over the next few weeks, Cegedim will be running a series of Webinars to discuss the challenges facing the NHS in 2021 and beyond and outlining the role our COVID Vaccination Point of Care solution can play at both strategic CCG and PCN level, as well as directly within Primary Care.
During this series, we will share our evolving insights from THIN data about the impact of COVID on patient care and how the vaccination programme is changing patients’ expectations and use of Primary Care.
The webinars will consider the wide ranging toolset now required for both strategic planning and day to day care - from cohort management to appointment booking across shared services and data recording as part of the vaccination programme. We will explore how the right solutions will enable Primary Care to become more effective and efficient in delivering a shared COVID vaccinations programme and better understand the pandemic’s impact within specific disease areas. And we will outline how technology will help Primary Care manage the continual change in rules and focus regarding prioritising patients and care delivery.
Each webinar will focus on one element of the COVID Vaccination Delivery Challenge - with the first session focusing on the challenge of managing cohorts across PCNs and shared appointment management and scheduling. We’ll explore our latest solutions and how the right tools and support will enable these challenges to be overcome and discuss how COVID Vaccination Point of Care solutions can be accessed through the NHS Digital Dynamic Procurement Framework.
For more information about the webinar or to register, click here.
