Doctors writing to the Times newspaper have rejected claims from the We Are Primary Care report grouping that using community based services can take pressure off of the NHS and GPs.
A cross-sector paper called We Are Primary Care was released last week by a group representing primary health professionals including pharmacy, hearing and optical sectors. In a response to a letter about overburdened GPs the group wrote to the Times suggesting that the use of primary care services could help alleviate pressure on the NHS and GP surgeries. Within days the Times published responses from an ophthalmologist and a Bristol doctor which rejected the ideas put forward by the cross sector group.
Nikhil Kaushik a consultant ophthalmologist from Wrexham said in the optical sector the outsourcing of care to optometrists for medical conditions had resulted in fragmentation of care and multiplication of demand. The result being that the NHS had ended up pay more to deliver the service. Dr Yeland Kalfayan from Bristol said an increase in information had lead to a greater demand for GP services. 'Our health service is overburdened by a toxic mixture of too much information, epidemic levels of health anxiety and too great a tolerance of minor symptoms. More well-intentioned advice from other primary care agencies in the high street will only make things worse.'
Responding for the cross-sector group Katrina Venerus, Managing Director, LOCSU said there would always be differences of opinion about the best model for healthcare provision. 'The Optical Confederation and LOCSU firmly believe that community-based optometrists and opticians can and should play an important part in delivering primary eye care, if we want to see a more responsive, integrated and effective health system that puts the needs of patients at its heart. There is clear evidence that our professions, working with other providers across the spectrum of primary and secondary care, are helping to manage a number of long-term and acute conditions in a way that combines efficiency for the NHS, ease of access for the patient and high quality outcomes.'