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Latest Updates (most recent first)
Take a peek at our youtube channel for caperings from some ICB representatives at Scrutiny Committee…
At their quarterly ICB meeting, the ICB doubles down on its plans for “a new model of care … to support the Fuller Stocktake” that will separate “on the day urgent care where continuity is less important” from care for “patients with urgent needs & complexity / vulnerability or where continuity is important”. No promised community engagement plan was unveiled, downgraded instead to an “NWL communication and involvement plan” to be reported in the Autumn. Once again, no recording of this meeting is available. (16th July 2024)
‘Opposition to North West London experiment is still growing‘ – read John Lister’s blistering taking apart of NWL’s claims about its plans to break up General Practice, and its expectation to replace trained doctors with physician associates (15th May 2024)
Recording of Healthwatch event on Same Day Access hubs, with the excellent straight-talking John Lister, chaired by Cllr Ketan Sheth who also chairs the NWL Scrutiny committee (30th April 2024)
ICB Board meeting held in Hillingdon with last minute inadequate webcasting and no subsequent recording (but SOFD has a transcript!). The ICS confirms to partners that it is pressing ahead regardless of a lack of evidence. Rob Hurd repeats his baseless claims that the changes are mandated by national NHS policy. (17th April 2024)
The Pulse reports that Health Minister Andrea Leadsom has rebutted NWL ICB CEO Rob Hurd’s assertion that these changes are “national policy” (18th April 2024)
RBKC MP Felicity Buchan launches a campaign and another petition against the proposed changes: “I believe that we need to retain the link between patients and their GP surgeries. I am very concerned by the lack of consultation on these far-reaching proposals.” (11th April 2024)
A mysterious new ‘Stakeholder Briefing’ appears on the NWL ICB website, dated 19th (or 20th) March but not posted until early April. It is different in tone to the 27th March “your questions answered” document to local GP Clinical Directors, but only seems to actually contradict the latter as regards any serious pilot-project evaluation being possible or in the pipeline. At the same time, this ‘Briefing’ announces that the ICB plans to throw “national and local money” at pushing its call-centre hub model for North West London. (3rd April 2024)
Queen’s Park Area Residents Association respond (with strong detail) (19th Feb 2024)
Concise brilliant analysis from Oxford GP Helen Salisbury: ‘Levelling down general practice” in The Britsh Medical Journal (13th Feb 2024)
Some other evidences and arguments (in rough order of significance and “fun”)
‘The Future of General Practice’, Report by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee – chaired by Jeremy Hunt – skewers the entire premise of the ICB’s proposed changes in its report dated October 2022. (Also see the Summary extracted here.)
Comedian Chris Morris nails the case for Family Doctoring in this laugh-out-loud address to the annual conference of the Representatives of Local Medical Councils, 23rd Nov 2023 (skip past the intro to hear Chris)
More research is needed before anyone should claim that only “some” patients need continuity in Primary Care (BJGP Open, accepted 23rd Feb 2024)
Proving that the new “model” is not locally designed – West Berks, Oxon & Bucks (BOB) unveil the same plan from the same consultants from NHSE working for KPMG!