NHS reform: What does offering GPs £20 every time they consult a specialist actually do?
The NHS is facing significant challenges, with rising pressure on A&E departments and patients facing long waiting times for referrals. However, there is a positive way forward. Health tech offers an exciting opportunity to transform care delivery.
Every winter, we see more patients seeking treatment for respiratory infections, cardiovascular issues, and seasonal flu. Technology can help manage and prioritise care more effectively, easing the burden on overworked staff.
With healthcare demand set to grow further due to the ageing population, the NHS can use innovations in health tech to provide more accessible, timely, and personalised care while reducing strain on frontline services.
Recently, the Government proposed new reforms focused on improving communication within the NHS.
A key element of these reforms is a plan to incentivise GPs by offering them £20 every time they consult a specialist for Advice & Guidance. This proposal encourages GPs to engage with specialists earlier in a patient’s care journey, which is crucial for reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and avoiding strain on A&E departments.
‘A key element of these reforms is a plan to incentivise GPs by offering them £20 every time they consult a specialist for Advice & Guidance’
Fundamentally it promotes a culture of collaboration within the NHS, ensuring that patients receive the right care at the right time without unnecessary delays or interventions.
On paper, it sounds like the perfect solution, but the question becomes how do we deliver on this quickly and at scale? The reforms are all well and good, but clinicians need a tool that actually allows them to do this.
This is where technology comes in, at Consultant Connect, our app allows primary and secondary care clinicians to communicate. A GP (or any clinician) can quickly use the app to directly call a specialist for advice and guidance.
Previously if a GP wanted to reach a specialist they would call through to the hospital switchboard, often left on hold or unable to reach the right person. As a result, without specialist advice, many GPs would have no choice but to refer a patient to see a consultant. This action could be the start of a lengthy referral process with a patient left anxiously waiting for their next hospital appointment.
However, tech can allow this consultation process to happen in a matter of seconds. A quicker consultation process reduces the time patients spend waiting for care and minimises the chances of conditions worsening while they wait for a referral. The proposed reforms, when paired with tech, can help facilitate this.
‘A quicker consultation process reduces the time patients spend waiting for care and minimises the chances of conditions worsening while they wait for a referral.’
Technology can provide a lifeline in these situations. If paramedics in rural areas can consult a specialist before conveying the patient to hospital, they could avoid an unnecessary admission or determine if treatment can be administered locally.
For example, a paramedic attending a patient presenting with signs of a stroke, but suspects it is another condition such as Bell’s Palsy, they can consult with an Acute Consultant to give them the confidence to avoid conveying that patient to A&E and instead refer them to their local GP.
Several NHS areas are already using this to great effect. NHS Tayside has achieved the lowest ambulance conveyance rate in Scotland as a result of implementing tech. 15 fewer patients are being admitted per day than the national average, and considering it costs £130 extra for an ambulance to bring a patient into A&E, this means it’s helping to save NHS Tayside over £700,000 a year.
An unnecessary ambulance trip to hospital can be the difference between a paramedic picking up the next emergency call or sitting in a queue waiting to unload a patient who may not need to be there. By integrating technology into the healthcare system, we empower paramedics, GPs, and specialists to make faster, more informed decisions.
While the Government’s reforms are a big step in the right direction for improving communication and care delivery, it is only part of the solution. The real challenge lies in the Government tackling the red tape that too often hinders progress and delays the implementation of much-needed reforms.
There are 42 healthcare areas in England alone and each one can choose a different tech system. This means we’ve ended up with a complicated mess of different systems that can’t talk to each other.
Labour must commit to changing this. We’re not going to meaningfully cut NHS waiting lists unless we have an agile and responsive system that works seamlessly across regions. To do this, we need to coordinate a single system. NHS England should identify the best tech, establish a process of how to use it and then roll it out everywhere. The situation is urgent – we can’t afford delays caused by endless rubber stamping and committees.
Only by acting swiftly and decisively can we build an NHS that works for both patients and healthcare staff. The time for action is now—and the Government’s proposals offer a clear path to building a better, more resilient NHS that can shoulder the increasing pressure placed upon it.
If you have any questions or want to find out more about how our services could help your NHS area, email: hello@consultantconnect.org.uk or call us: 01865 261 467.
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