GP Improvement Week Aims to Transform Patient Care in Doncaster

GP Improvement Week is a collaborative effort involving a multitude of healthcare organisations in Doncaster. Its primary objective is to bolster GP capacity, ultimately leading to improved patient access and more consistent care.

This initiative, taking place at The Burns Practice in Doncaster, will help us have a clear picture of where pressure points are and identify paths for improvement when meeting patient demands.

This initiative is an opportunity to build upon the lessons learned and the collaborative spirit that emerged during the pandemic.

Several factors have contributed to the development of GP Improvement Week, including mounting pressure on primary care and the strain across the entire healthcare system, the evolving public perception of general practice and the difficulties in measuring workload, capacity, and demand in primary care.

GP Improvement Week adopts an approach akin to the ‘perfect week’ model typically employed in secondary care to effect real-time improvements. Key elements include:

Practice-Centric Focus: Linking practices in real-time with Integrated Care System (ICS) partners to jointly identify challenges and devise solutions.

System Assessment: Analyzing the workings and constraints of the healthcare system to deliver desired patient outcomes.

Collaboration Over Criticism: Instead of assigning blame, the focus is on understanding constraints, volume, and impact, and removing obstacles collectively.

We aim to gather live data on demand across a week, evaluate the volume and impact of this demand, and bring challenges into a ‘command room’ situated within a practice. Here, the root causes of issues are identified, and improvement opportunities are explored. Organisational leaders will meet twice daily to address challenges and initiate immediate improvements or plan for longer-term enhancements.

Laura Sherburn, Chief Executive Officer, Primary Care Doncaster and Senior Responsible Officer for GP Improvement Week for Doncaster, said. “As Senior Responsible Officer for the upcoming Doncaster GP Improvement Week, I am excited about the potential that this project has to bring about real changes for patients and staff.”

“I’ve often been frustrated that general practice isn’t always supported by the same business intelligence systems that other parts of the health and social care service are, and this can lead to a lack of understanding amongst partner organisations about the demand seen in primary care. By bringing together senior decision-makers from across the patient pathway, and scrutinising the flow of demand into a general practice in a real-time, systematic manner, I feel confident that we will be able to unblock barriers together in a way we’ve not been able to before.”

GP Improvement Week is expected to generate invaluable insights into the pressures facing the healthcare system. It aims to create sustainability for improvements made on the day and develop strategies for longer-term enhancements, including patient and community involvement. The week also paves the way for collaborative patient pathways and provides a replicable model for other regions.

This endeavor showcases the commitment of Doncaster’s healthcare community to elevate patient care standards and build a more responsive, interconnected healthcare system.