South Reading Patient Voice has made a formal response to the Primary Care Strategy prepared by the four CCGs of Berkshire West.
Please see the attached document for our full set of key messages - but here is a brief survey.
Our area has quite a few small surgeries so facilities like extended opening hours and professional triage (having a health professional talk briefly with you to assess who should see you and how soon) will need either mergers or relocation to more modern premises. But we don't want access to be more difficult.
The CCGs are planning to have a greater variety of health professionals working in surgeries and taking appointments, not just nurses but pharmacists and the new physicians associates. While Physicians Associates have a very detailed matrix of competences for taking appointments, making diagnoses and deciding treatment (and cannot write prescriptions without extended additional training), the situation does not seem so clear for Pharmacists so we ask for all professionals to work strictly within their recognised competences.
The benefits of integrating health and social care will be best realised if GP surgeries play a full role, with records exchangeable between services, with patient consent.