What Next for General Practice?

Last week, I had a sixth form student spend the week with me. She is hoping to go to medical school and is gaining the necessary work experience ahead of her applications. It was so great to be able to share with her the variance of my work and the great privilege it is to be a GP in the community. On the first day, we saw people with all kinds of problems, often interlinked or overlapping. She was amazed by how well I know my patients, not just the conditions they have, but them as people and the complexities of their lives. At Ash Trees Surgery, the practice where I am a partner, we run personal lists, in which we as GPs always see the same set of patients, supported by 2 other doctors, for times when one of us is not around. It gives us the opportunity of building fantastic therapeutic relationships with the people we serve and we get to know them really well. Our patients love it, we love it, and it has been a ‘traditional model’ of General Practice in our local community.

 

However, things are changing (not immediately in our case, but faster than perhaps we would like), and we (as GPs) and people generally, are going to have to get used to it, not just in Carnforth, but across the whole of the UK. I’m not writing this blog post as an idealist, but as a pragmatist. There are many things I wish were not changing, but we are reaching a point at which the scales are tipping and things simply cannot remain as they have been. Many GPs know this already and are making bold and difficult decisions to try and work differently, but many of us keep harking back to yesteryear and wishing we could turn the clocks back.

 

The issues facing us are stark:

 

1) We simply will not have enough GPs within the next 5 years to carry on working in the ways we have done. 40% of current GPs will be retiring within the next 5 years or moving into other work. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/07/30/nearly-40-per-cent-gps-plan-leave-nhs-within-five-years/).

 

2) The promise of 5000 more GPs will simply not come to fruition and certainly not in the time frame needed. Actually, a plan is afoot to replace some of the GPs with ‘Physician Associates’, people who have a science or allied degree, who have then done a conversation course and can do some (but certainly not all) of the work of a GP. They will also neeed supervision by GPs. Health Education England are having to cut GP training in order to make way for this new breed of health care workers (yet unproven). The Royal College welcomes the development as a support, but not a replacement of GPs. (http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/your-practice/practice-topics/education/gp-training-cuts-necessary-to-allow-hee-to-develop-physician-associates/20034643.article#.WUrZgli-YHU.twitter)

 

3) The new generation of GPs, do not want to become partners and therefore the old partnership model will soon become entirely unsustainable. The results of a recent survey, carried out by Pulse of GP Trainers about the future careers aspirations of their trainees is pretty stark:

Only 6% said their trainees wanted to go into partnerships;
49% said their trainees wanted to become locums;
28% said their trainees wanted to go abroad
30% said their trainees wanted to find a salaried post;
4% said their trainees wanted to change career.

 

So, in summary, the older GPs are retiring, we’re not recruiting enough new GPs and those we are recruiting, simply don’t want to work in the ways we have been used to.

 

The Five Year Forward View has been trying to encourage us all to reimagine General Practice and how we might hold true to the values of this bedrock of the NHS, whilst adapting towards the future that is coming. I think we have some options, and GPs need to think clearly and carefully about which direction they want to head in. But even more importantly, the people of the UK need to recognise that change is afoot and GPs are simply unable to work as we have done previously. The demand is too great and the resource simply is not there to carry on as we were.

 

The first option, is for GPs to bury their heads in the sand and hope that all this might not be true, to become more entrenched in their position and wait for things to be done to them. I believe this will be harmful for General Practice itself, as it will mean a decrease in resources, an increasingly burdensome workload and significant burnout. But I also believe it is detrimental to the NHS as a whole. We neeed to break down the barriers that have divided us and work more holistically across what is a very complex system. Waving the flag of traditional General Practice is admirable in some ways, but I think it might prevent us from stepping into the future that the nation now needs from its NHS.

 

The second option is for GPs to federate with other practices, keeping hold of some of what they love, (a perceived sense of autonomy, the ability to run their own business, to stay part of a smaller team) whilst benefiting from sharing some functions like training, recruitment and maybe some staff with other practices. We have done this in Morecambe Bay (thanks to the Stirling work of Rahul Keith, John Miles, Lauren Butler, Richard Russell, Graham Atkinson, Chris Coldwell et al).  However, the federated model has to be given true commitment and financial support or it will accomplish very little. Practices cannot go back to competitive mindsets or taking care of their own needs first. It requires a bigger heart and a more open mind with genuine behavioural change.

 

The third option is to form super-practices. We have two in our area now (Bay Medical Group in Morecambe – > 60000 patients  and Lancaster Medical Practice >50000 – also both part of our federation). There are some huge advantages in working “at scale”, but it is not easy and certainly not a smooth transition. GPs have to learn to trust each other and be willing to have difficult conversations around buildings, drawings, policies etc, let alone learning to work differently. But more than that it is very hard to learn how to deliver really good General Practice in a personal way, whilst trying to reconfigure the team and establishing a really good culture. However, this model definitely allows new ways of working to be more easily acheivable, if given appropriate OD support. Some recent work done in Gosport and showcased by the King’s Fund showed that perhaps only 9% of people who phone asking to see a GP actually need to see a GP. The reality is that people have become used to seeing their GP, but often they could be seen and treated more effectively by a pharmacist, a nurse, a nurse practitioner, a physiotherapist, a mental health worker, a physician associate or a health coach. Perhaps GPs need to let go, whilst patients learn to trust the expertise of others? How do we transition to this kind of approach without losing that amazing knowledge of a community and complex social dynamics, often held by a GP? How does a Multi-Disciplinary team function effectively for the best care possible for patients in such a dynamic? We are in danger of losing something very precious, but can we somehow hold onto it in a different way?

 

The fourth option is to allow a “take-over” and become a more active player in an Accountable Care Organisation. The take-over approach is not straightforward, but I’m not sure it is as terrible as it appears to many GP colleagues. What if an acute trust set up a separate company, lead by a GP as medical director, who understood and held the true values of General Practice in his/her heart (as they have done in Yeovil – https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/paul-mears-berge-balian/)? The company, run by General Practitioners, holding true to the core delivery of General Practice, without all the difficulties of running a business, HR issues, estates, etc etc but with all the benefits of shared IT systems, easier access to scans, no duplication of work and direct access to services without all the current clunkiness, not to mention protected admin time! What if the salary was right and the dross was removed? What is it exactly that would not be appealing about this? It is interesting to me. Only a couple of years ago I would have been utterly opposed to this idea, but having given it thought and time over several months, exploring the possibilities involved, I’m in the place of thinking that the benefits probably outweigh the negatives both for GPs and our patients.

 

What we need right now is for us all to accept that the NHS, as we have known it is no longer functioning in a way that meets the need of the population we seek to serve. We know we need a greater emphasis on prevention and population health (I have blogged on this many times before and will do so again!). We also know that the system itself is vastly complex and is in need of major reform and reconfiguration. We need this not only for the people who use the NHS, but for those of us who work in it and are in danger of serious burn out. I hope with all my heart that General Practice does not drag its feet and prevent the revolution that is needed. Our case for more resource and more recognition of the fabulous work we do will only gain favour, if we also show that we are willing to be a part of the whole and a part of the change that must ensue.

 

 

 

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A Conversation in Response to ‘Living with Illness’

After my last blog post, I got a couple of responses from people who felt I misrepresented them. I am always happy when people come back to me in discussion. We are never changed if we cannot receive challenge or we do not really encounter ‘the other’. So here is a conversation between me and a lovely person called Elly who helped me think more deeply about the complex issues of living with illness.

Hi Andy,

I’ve been introduced to your blog via Martin Scott’s, a dear friend. Interesting timing in that my daughter (in New York) and myself in the uk are both seeing consultants today looking at our multiple autoimmune diseases plus some possible new ones! We also have a group of friends praying today, as our health puts limitations on us. So here’s the thing, I read “living with” and then “are you healthy?” and got very angry….. don’t go away…. chronic illness is real, debilitating and often life threatening.. you know that. We would love to be able to function without them, sometimes it’s not possible and sometimes can mean often.

You suggest that health professionals and I would add government and well meaning charities label us disabled. I use the term disabled to get financial aid, practical help and to explain what it’s like because chronic illness doesn’t cut it for most people (they think it’s all in you head) another label. NHS and benefits don’t relate to it either. I was challenged by my use of the word and would like a creative way to describe my life (ever read the spoon theory?) My friends have been really positive with this site. Back to my anger… Maybe at myself for using the D word but also because I feel by putting us in 2 catergories you too have labelled us. We’re neither a or b (ok I know some are) but I am me, but with those limits… I’m my head I dream and sometimes wish I didn’t because trying to act on those dreams however small can bring on a crisis. I divert.. May I suggest that you too find a new way to address us?

 

are you healthy?
eating ..when we’re not nauseaous
exercising… limited due to poor mobility and pain
gratefulness… yes I am
forgiveness ..yes
care of others ….finding small creative ways to do this
nature would love to be out there too but grateful to hear the birds,watch the sky change

 

Now you may have not directed this at us but it felt like it so to try to deal with nasty feelings of mr anger I carried on listening to the amazing story of the 5th monk. (See reimagining health post). First you told it Soooo well, my attention was caught and I was totally engaged and with all that you shared. I think we will be hearing a lot more from you, you have a gift that will draw people to listen. What you say will be important (so maybe I had to get mad so I had to write to say all that (not from me).
If you want to use anything that I’ve written or you may want to delete feel free. Its been a long read admittedly or you may have given up! So bless you, continue on this journey and may others join. Use any of my stuff to encourage conversation. I’m going to get my gp reading this.
Elly

 

Wow – Elly – thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that. You are absolutely right and in my effort to write a shorter blog in which to engage people, I oversimplified it in a very unhelpful way. I was short sighted in how I communicated and probably pretty patronising as well – so for all of that I am really sorry. I guess we are only really changed as we encounter ‘the other’ and so I am hugely grateful that you took the time to tell me what it’s really like for you – it changes me.

 

 I manged to unintentionally upset another very lovely person, who told me about it on Facebook – here is part of my reply to her:
I was trying (and it seems unsuccessfully) in a shorter than usual blog to say 2 things, and I definitely didn’t unpack either well enough. However, I am hugely grateful for the chance for a conversation about it. I firmly believe we are changed as we encounter each other, and am therefore really grateful for your challenge and perspective. Gone are the days when doctors can utter edicts and always believe themselves to be right. On one level, I am trying to challenge the dehumanisation that is dealt to those, like you, who suffer with a long term, debilitating illness or disability. So much of the ‘system’ in terms of benefits, etc can (not always) dehumanise the people living with the conditions by labelling in an unhelpful way. So, I think there is a difference between calling Andy a diabetic, compared to Andy, who has diabetes or saying Janet is disabled rather than talking to Janet, who lives with a disability…..maybe I’m wrong…..
I am really hoping that we can find less dehumanising ways of talking about people who are disabled in some way…….language can be so clumsy.
 
Secondly, and this is where I was way too simplistic for which I do apologise, I was looking to speak hope rather than idealism for those who live with chronic ill health. I genuinely do touch on the deep pain and complexity of my patients lives every day and I know that the issue is not straight forward. My hope was to gently encourage without being idealistic that ones identity, although surely affected by chronic ill health, does not have to be defined by it. I have patients with debilitating MS, Parkinson’s, MND, Bipolar, schizophrenia and COPD who see their illness as part of them and they have had to courageously accept how utterly life limiting it is…..they struggle, they are breathless, they feel terrible pain, they hate, they feel hopeless at times and yet still they say that it is only a part of them – a huge part, that shapes every move they make, but isn’t the fullness of who they are. I could have said that much better…….did I improve or am I still missing it? 
 
Elly – I love what you wrote about being healthy. Doing those amazing things you do, like eating when you can, exercising in the ways you are able, being grateful, forgiving others, caring for others and appreciating the beauty around you, to me that says that although your body is suffering and tired, inwardly, you are well…..and if you weren’t there would be no judgement, only understanding (at some level) but maybe also a little offer of hope and encouragement that though the tunnel is long and dark, there would be people to walk through it with you……
Thank for your lovely encouragement to me also – I am hugely glad that you wrote to me and for the challenges you brought.
Andy

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