We have been working with stakeholders to develop London’s proposal for networked care. If you have material you would like to share or comments on this work please contact us at hlp.cyp-programme@nhs.net.
Background
Over 40% of the primary care workload is due to children and young people, yet GPs say they see ‘very few’ young people and only 40% of GPs are trained in paediatrics.
Young people are the age group that report the lowest levels of satisfaction with GP services and have the shortest consultation times. (Association of Young People’s Health 2016)
Children and young people are also twice as likely as other groups to attend A&E or walk-in centres rather than see their GP or practice nurse. (Wolfe & McKee 2014)
Primary care at scale is the emerging direction of primary care with community teams wrapping around groups of GP practices to respond to patients’ holistic needs and leading to more tailored interventions, efficient service delivery and improved health outcomes. Development also needs to include all levels of care and other organisations as part of a networked care model. The first diagram shows the multi-agency approach to networked care, highlighting the key linkages. The second diagram uses asthma as an exemplar to demonstrate how services are arranged around the patient and their family.
Aims of networked care for children and young people
- Children and young people to be seen at a time that suits them and their families – no more missing school
- Children and young people and their parents to have the tools for self-care leading to less appointments and more empowerment
- Patient to be at the centre of services rather than going to multiple sites for multiple visits
- Less chance of people “slipping through the net” as key worker/care navigators co-ordinate care
- More skilled staff working together leading to motivated staff with improved job satisfaction
- More opportunities for social prescribing
- Improved and easier links to voluntary sector, local authority, sexual health and mental health services
- With a shared care record, there is less need for patients to repeat their story