"We know that we are not getting everything right" admits Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board - but 'significant' GP investments made

A short presentation to “highlight a few of the key aspects” of the ICB’s annual report was given at last week’s ICB board meeting (Friday, September 27).

Chief executive Felicity Cox, said: “We know that we are not getting everything right.

“But we are using the Denny report as a means of actually helping us to do the best we can and to keep improving. There is a lot more close working across the system than ever before.

“[And] emphasising that partnership working, in a report published by the NHS Confederation [reported] the work that we’ve done with Bedford borough on housing, warm homes and health was actually picked up as an example of good practice.

“So, we’ve started to see partnership work paying off.

“We also have been doing lots of work around cancers, driving down child poverty, tackling rough sleeping, which I know continues to be an issue,” she said.

Moving to the financial aspect of the report, Ms Cox said 53 per cent of the ICB’s money goes to acute care.

“Subsequent to our last board meeting, the government has changed, the Darzi report has been published. And both the government and the Darzi Report make significant efforts on the left shift,” she said.

Left shift is to change the focus from the end of the waitlist to why people join the waiting list. The aim is to reduce the number of people joining the waiting list by focusing on primary care.

“So, I think that success for us in a few years time would be to see that 53 per cent of the budget being spent in hospitals reducing over time,” Ms Cox said.

The Board heard that primary care appointments increased over the last year.

Ms Cox said: “We have made significant additional investment, but I know it is still hard to get a GP appointment, but that is because of demand.

“But we have been increasing the capacity in our general practice across the whole of BLMK.”