Deadline: 10th September 2021
Review of the model and funding of Primary Care – Principles
The Committee for Health and Social Care (HSC) is looking to work with other stakeholders, including providers, to address current barriers to care and to create a framework which best supports islanders accessing the care they need, when they need it, at rates they can afford.
HSC wants to maintain high quality care, minimal waiting times, and continuity of care. It also wants to maintain and respect the roles which all providers bring to the health and care system and the needs of all islanders.
To support this work, the HSC and Employment & Social Security have agreed to establish a working party to provide specific political focus to this workstream. As part of this they have developed the following which sets out the areas of focus and the principles which will inform the work.
The Working Group has been established to consider:
• What primary care services should be available to islanders;
• How and where these services should be delivered;
• Who should be able to access these services;
• How such services should be funded;
• How should services be designed to ensure integration across providers;
• How to ensure the quality of primary care services;
• How to monitor services to ensure they continue to match the requirements of our population;
• Whether there are any necessary enablers to give effect to the above.
This work will be informed by the following principles.
The delivery model of Primary Care should:
• Have the user at its centre;
• Protect the good qualities of primary care in the Bailiwick, most significantly high- quality care, minimal waiting times and good continuity of care;
• Support the role of primary care providers as long-term partners in health;
• Support population health, particularly prevention and early intervention;
• Be inclusive, building upon the expertise of all aspects of the primary care system including GP practices, pharmacists, and community care provision;
• Treat mental health with equal consideration and priority to physical health;
• Be evidence-based and able to demonstrate how interventions impact on health outcomes, patient safety and patient experience;
• Be based on greater integration across providers and a common approach to information enabling seamless and coordinated care;
• Be understandable, providing islanders with clarity about the range of services they can expect to receive, and the criteria for accessing them.
The funding model of Primary Care should:
• Ensure care is affordable to all especially to people with low incomes experiencing long-term health conditions and/or have children;
• Be sustainable for generations to come for the States of Guernsey, providers and individuals;
• Be understood by the public and encourage personal responsibility.
• Focus public funding on reducing health inequities and in turn improving population health through prevention and early intervention wherever possible.
