Intended for healthcare professionals

Editorials

Tackling the crisis in primary care

BMJ 2022; 377 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1485 (Published 23 June 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;377:o1485
  1. Charlotte A M Paddison, senior fellow,
  2. Rebecca Rosen, senior fellow
  1. Nuffield Trust, London, UK
  2. Correspondence to: C A M Paddison charlotte.paddison@nuffieldtrust.org.uk

Policy makers must avoid the false dichotomy between continuity and enhanced access

The Fuller report, published in May 2022, articulates a vision for primary care built around integrated neighbourhood teams.1 These teams would be equivalent in scale to many existing primary care networks and rooted in a sense of shared ownership for improving the population’s wellbeing.

It seeks to achieve this through creating a national environment to support locally driven change. The emphasis on identifying key enablers of change—workforce, estates, and data—along with examples of how these can support implementation and make change happen, is particularly positive. It is refreshing to see attention not only on setting out a policy vision but also on the supporting infrastructure needed to implement change.

Access to and continuity of care

In setting out the policy vision, this report emphasises three things: streamlining urgent access, providing proactive personalised care supported by multidisciplinary team working, and prevention to help people stay well for longer. These are laudable, if not particularly new. Fuller correctly identifies access and …

View Full Text

Log in

Log in through your institution

Subscribe

* For online subscription