Agenda item

Anne Tidmarsh (Senior Responsible Officer, STP Workforce), Dr Simon Dunn, (STP Clinical Lead, Workforce & Chair of STP Primary Care Workforce Group) and Professor Chris Holland (Foundation Dean, Kent and Medway Medical School) were in attendance for this item.

(1)      The Chair welcomed the guests to the Committee and said that workforce was an integral issue that was threaded through so many reports presented to Committee.  She highlighted the recent media reports on GP figures in Kent as a comparator to other parts of the Country and said that the Committee saw this as a real concern.

(2)      Mrs Tidmarsh began by acknowledging that the challenges faced were very well known and therefore a Workforce Workstream within the STP to give a focus on this.  She said that in Kent and Medway there were 226 General Practices with them all organising differently through developments of primary care networks.  Mrs Tidmarsh continued that the networks were serving bigger populations through Multi-Disciplinary Teams and had a mix of professions available within them and therefore the paper presented to Committee focussed on the general practice workforce as a whole service as they could not be seen separately.

(3)      Mrs Tidmarsh informed the Committee that the Kent and Medway STP was currently developing a Primary Care Strategy with the work undertaken by the STP Workforce Workstream, £1.5m was forthcoming front Health Education England to aid delivery.  She gave an overview of the local and national General Practice Workforce data and the challenges being faced, detailing the following key points:

·         Kent was 181 GPs short and was a moving number;

·         Locum GPs make up a significant number of the workforce – 8%;

·         An aging workforce was a concern – 26% are 55 years old or older;

·         There is a lack of growth in GP workforce – 11% compared to 2% nationally;

·         Retention of GPs was difficult - Community Education Provider Networks were working on resolving this along with training;

·         There is a lack of practice nurses;

·         Multidisciplinary ways of working were proving to be a good example of workforce development and delivering new ways of working to take the pressure of GPs and give a variation in career, as well as aid part time working.

(4)      Professor Holland delivered a presentation on the Kent and Medway Medical School and said that he had a began in the role on 1 August 2018 and saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity.  He was delighted to inform the Committee that another stage had been met in the process of delivering the school – stage 3 of a 9-stage process in the approval process. 

(5)      Professor Holland emphasised that the school must widen participation and diversity with a view to influence future workforces, while providing excellent medical education.  He said that the curriculum needs to be innovative underlining that by stating that the students will be practicing through to 2067. 

(6)      Professor Holland said that school was underwritten by two universities and that the school was partnered with Brighton and Sussex Medical School as they had the highest conversion rates to General Practice and therefore brought strength to the partnership. He continued that there was a global leadership team and looked forward to working with open minded partners to develop teaching hospitals and opportunities for research.  Professor Holland stated that there was no central start-up funding; that the universities will only provide funding for half of the investment required and active conversations were taking place to increase funding levels.   He concluded by stating that the clinical workforce can be benefited by the opportunities arising long before the first students graduate.

(7)      Members expressed thanks for the presentations.  Members enquired about GP access incorporating population need predictions, working patterns and new ways of working within the multi-disciplinary teams.  Dr Dunn said that a lot of issues could not be resolved immediately, and this was felt not only at a local level but nationally too.  He said that a lot was happening to aid the workforce by new ways of working for the future by defined role team working within a general practice.  He stated that the debate is not about the number of GP’s that we have but the quality of care on offer. 

(8)      Mrs Tidmarsh said that NHS England were recognising a need for capital development with local authorities assisting in this.  

(9)      Dr Dunn said that he was pleased that he was sitting before the Committee as he believed that primary care had not been given recognition regionally or nationally but within the last couple of years people were seeing that investment was needed.

(10)   Dr Allingham was invited to speak by the Chair.  Dr Allingham said that the average GP was in their forties and that reasons for part time working was due to a lifestyle choice, as well as pressures of the working day which could be 13/14-hour days.  He said to aid mental health a new way of working was being favoured along with role variation.

(11)   In reference to population health needs, Ms Duggal was invited to speak by the Chair. Ms Duggal said that there was a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, which was currently being refreshed and that the Public Health Unit were happy to look at particular pathways.

(12)   In response to a question about exit interviews and establishing reasons for leaving Kent Primary Care, Mrs Tidmarsh said she would explore ways to gather such information as part of the workstream.

(13)   Members enquired about the medical school and further education programmes.  Professor Holland wanted to widen participation, explore health professions within education from an early age and saw the selective education system as a challenging opportunity.  Dr Dunn said that practices were responsible for providing further training. 

(14)   A Member asked about bursary availability and Mrs Tidmarsh endeavoured to look into this.

(15)   The Chair concluded by welcoming the collaborations taking place and said that the Committee would continue to receive information on the progress of the Workstream and the Medical School.  She looked forward to the implementation plans making a difference.

(16)   RESOLVED that the report be noted, and the Kent and Medway STP be requested to provide an update following the publication of the Primary Care Strategy.