Agenda item

The Panel received a presentation from Dr Jim O’Donnell that updated on Primary Care Provision in Slough.

An overview was provided of the current provision which was delivered by 16 practices across 18 sites in Slough.  There were four Primary Care Networks in Slough and they worked together to join up services with hospitals and community services.  Ward councillors were encouraged to engage with their Primary Care Networks to have regular dialogue about services available to residents.  Primary care services were highly accessible in Slough and the vast majority of residents were a short distance either by car, public transport or walking.

Slough compared favourably to national averages in terms of waiting times for GP appointments with 37% of respondents to the 2020 GP Patient Survey saying they had received appointments on the same day (compared to 32% nationally), 10% on the next day and 25% a few days later.  Members asked why 20% of patients waited more than a week for an appointment and various reasons were cited included periods when demand was high or sometimes patients preferred to wait for non-urgent appointments.  There were variations in waiting time performance between practices and this was one of the areas which Dr O’Donnell suggested ward councillors raise with their local practices to ensure residents priorities were understood and any barriers overcome.  The specific issues in Colnbrook with Poyle were raised and it was noted that the Council had recently purchased a site which would become a new GP led facility.

All GP practices had remained open during the Covid-19 pandemic and the way in which services had been provided had changed significantly.  Whilst face to face appointments had still been available where clinically appropriate, there had been a significant increase in virtual consultations which had given patients better access to general practice that ever before as transport barriers had been removed.  A Councillor asked about the impact the pandemic had had on maternity services and Dr O’Donnell explained the way in which health visiting and midwifery services were delivered.  He highlighted the crucial importance of ‘starting well’ and the commitment primary care had to continue to improve services for young families.

In relation to the GP practice workforce it was noted that there had been an increase of 4% in the past year of total FTEs with a rise in the number of GPs from 84 in April 2019 to 90 in April 2020.  There had been a reduction in the number of nurses in Slough’s GP practice workforce.  It was recognised that nursing was a demanding profession and more could be done nationally on issues such as pay and workload to support nursing.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Panel thanked Dr O’Donnell for his positive presentation and more broadly for the excellent work that he and his colleagues in primary care were doing for residents in Slough.

Resolved –  That the presentation on Slough Primary Care Provision be noted.