Primary Care Response to Covid-19 Engagement Report

Last summer the four Humber CCGs’, including North East Lincolnshire CCG, launched a survey to find out the views of patients on the changes which were made to Primary Care services in response to the Covid pandemic.

A number of changes were made to Primary Care services in North East Lincolnshire at the start of the pandemic with patients being assessed over the phone or digitally, and only being asked to attend in person when necessary. Over 7500 patients responded to the survey, with over 1900 of these being from North East Lincolnshire. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond.

Mark Webb, Chair of North East Lincolnshire CCG said: ‘‘At the beginning of last year our health and care system started to face one of the biggest challenges in its history, with changes needing to be made to Primary Care services overnight to ensure the safety of our patients & staff. It is in times like these that it is more important than ever to listen to the views of our local people, and I am delighted to see such a brilliant response to this survey from the people of North East Lincolnshire. The wealth of information we have received will help us to develop our Primary Care services for the future and assist us in making sure they meet the needs of our community and are accessible to all.’

Here are some of the key findings of the survey:

  • It is clear that the changes do not support all patients, with 25% of respondents saying that they wouldn't recommend the method. It was also found that a ‘digital first’ approach would only work for around half of patients, but only a small percentage of people would prefer to access services this way.
  • The majority of patients feel that they have been able to get the care they needed.
  • It is also clear that there are two cohorts of patients emerging—those who favour quick, virtual appointments with an appropriate health professional, and those who require longer, face-to-face interactions with a health professional that they are familiar with and who is familiar with their individual needs.
  • The changes to Primary Care do not support everyone

You can read the full report here.

We will now be developing an action plan in response to the findings of the survey, which will help the CCG and local clinicians to develop Primary Care services across North East Lincolnshire, to help ensure that they meet the present and future needs of our communities. We will also be sharing the findings of the survey at our Way Forward event on the 24th March, 5pm – 6:15pm. You can book a place at the event by emailing nelccg.accord@nhs.net or call 0300 3000 567