Patients unaware of new changes in out of hours services
Latest figures reveal that one in four people have not heard of out of hours GP care, whilst one in five were unaware of the new 111 urgent phone service.
The National Audit Office survey of 878 adults in England discovered that out of hours services have fallen by a third over six years, to 5.8 million in 2013/14. The drop could be attributed to the fact that patients were unaware it existed, or if they knew about it, they lacked the confidence to use it. The reported fall corresponds with increasing visits to A&E recorded.
The drop in out of hour service use could also be related to the launch of the 111 phone service, which started last year and handles some of the out of hours calls. The amount spent on out of hours care totals £400 million, which is £75 million less than eight years ago once inflation is taken into account.
GP’s out of hours
Over the past few years, stories have emerged of patients struggling to access healthcare services, since GP’s were allowed to opt out of providing out of hour services in 2004, with nine in 10 choosing to do so, leaving local health bodies to find alternative providers. Patient surveys have shown that 17% felt services were poor.
NAO head Amyas Morse told BBC News “NHS England should also work to raise public awareness of how and when patients should contact out-of-hours GP services and needs to be prepared to take the lead in integrating these services effectively with other parts of the urgent care system.”
Dr Cliff Mann, of the College of Emergency Medicine, said “Rather than persuade patients to find their way to services, we need to provide a range of services where the lights are on 24/7. That is why we are strongly advocating that out-of-hours care should be co-located with A&E services. This isn’t a marketing problem to solve but a real life patient care issue.”
Patients Association chief executive Katherine Murphy added “Unless this issue is addressed, we will continue to see more pressure on an already overstretched A&E system, as patients visit emergency departments.”
