Agenda item

To view the presentation of NHS London, Part of London Health and Care Partnership. 

Members viewed a presentation on patient choice in primary care, noting that all GP practices in England are free to register new patients who live outside their boundary area since January 2015 on a voluntary basis. The Committee also noted that patients are able to access GP appointments remotely thanks to the improved availability of telephone and online consultations and booking, as well as the Pharmacy First process whereby patients can be referred to community pharmacies for specific minor conditions.   

Noting the importance of placing the patient at the centre of every system, a Member commented on the concerns raised around situations whereby, for example, workers at the CoL might wish to register with a CoL-based GP which might place residents at a disadvantage and asked whether such a situation had arisen. The meeting noted that the Neaman practice would probably refuse a request for registration to someone whose residence was not in the CoL partly to do with capacity issues. 

A Member commented that GPs appeared to be acting as gatekeepers to pharmacists and asked whether that was the case.   The meeting heard that pharmacies were available to handle a wide range of issues.  

Noting that practices were entitled to refuse patients outside their catchment area, a Member asked what would happen if an already-registered patient then moved outside the catchment area. The meeting heard that a separate organisation managed the patient index and checked patient addresses, and in some circumstances a GP could agree to continue managing a patient who had moved outside the practice’s boundaries.   

On whether a patient could undergo a specific procedure outside the boundaries of their own GP (noting the many workers travelling into the CoL who may prefer to undergo a specific procedure within the CoL), the meeting heard that local diagnostic pathways were usually followed and that alternative options may be available, though there would need to be an agreement with the relevant ICB (see action point 4).