I’ve been a patient at the same practice for over 50 years, and a carer for over 40 years, for 10 people.
SEVEN of them were with this practice!
When I complained about the attitude of a new South African doctor, their response was to try and get rid of me as a patient. No one even realised that I’d been with them so long.
I then came across these details and forwarded them to the Practice Manager. He’d never even seen them!!!
Yep … very good guidelines , BB … shame they’re not written directives ?
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The RCGP, NHS England and NHS Improving Quality have launched ten high-level principles and a self-assessment questionnaire to support commissioners to invest in carers based on effective approaches that have been identified from the evidence summits.
The principles are underpinned by ways of identifying and supporting carers at a population level to help them provide better care and to stay well themselves, thereby contributing to better lives for those needing care as well as more effective use of NHS resources.
Another link to compliment this one … from the GP web site :
GPs urged to keep register of carers and offer double appointments | GPonline
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GPs urged to keep register of carers and offer double appointments.
By Jenny Cook on the 11 June 2019
GP practices in England have been urged to maintain a register of patients who are carers and to offer support including extra appointments and support groups.
Booking for the future!
I read that GP’s should help carers, I asked about registering at my surgery on the carers register, we don’t have one was the reply.
Due to my caring role I have problems attending appointments, I need an appointment at the time I want, no they don’t do that and frequently no appointments for 3 weeks.
Your GP is supposed to be a good source of info and support, my GP said unpaid caring , nothing to do with them.
Despite it being in the NYCC carers strategy.
The GP should signpost unpaid carers to the local carers centre, again nothing to do with the GP.
There’s about 20000 patients, 1in 10 are unpaid carers say, that’s 2000 unpaid carers attending my GP surgery.
It has been proven that the help and support provided by unpaid carers keeps carees healthy, reduces hospital admissions, save the GP and Social Services millions and millions every year.
The surgery is frequently shut for training days, are they training about unpaid carers? probably not.
I have heard that some GP surgerys have a carer support worker from the local carers centre at the premises , you can take your caree for the appointment and get instant unpaid carer help support advice.
NO we don’t do that and we have no plans to do that.
My GP was no use when caring, no use when my caring role ended.
Do GP’s not learn anything about Social services/caring etc when they spend 7 years at medical college?
At our surgery there is a 1 hour course one can go on to
help carers. I went on it when my wifey was alive but I seemed to know already
everything they told me, partly due to what I had read on this forum
and advise given at times.
I would suggest that anyone with a problem practice forwards the document I’ve given a link to, to the Practice Manager. Somewhere I have another document that talks about one of the staff at the practice being a “Carers Lead” so that when they have practice meetings someone is speaking up for carers.
It is wrong to talk about a “Carers Register” at a practice. Each carer should be flagged up, or registered, as a carer, but as far as I know they are nor required to make a list of carers - though this might be possible depending on how their database works. It is true that for every carer or person with learning difficulties (I can’t talk about other disabilities) the practice gets paid an additional amount from the NHS, so it is in their interests to make sure that they know every single carer amongst their patients.
My son is registered with a different practice, so they should never assume that if they know the disabled person they also know the carer.
There is just no incentive for GP Surgerys think carer, they get no money, Surgerys get money for vaccinations and clinics and other health related stuff.
But it is reckoned every £500,000 spent on carers is turned into a 5 million saving NHS/Social Care etc.
The services are supposed to be integrated, the NHS and Social Services should be talking to each other, integrated community teams to help the elderly and unwell.
who cares for the unpaid carer , answer no one.
Sorry to disagree, but my understanding is that they DO get extra for every single carer they have on their books.
Struggling to isolate a specific payment for having a " Carer " on the books , as opposed to a " Patient " , BB.
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Doctors in England are reported to receive an average of £151 a year for each patient on their books, whether they attend appointments or not.
Chris, it’s a bit like a “carer premium” I think but I have no idea where these “premiums” are written down though.
I learned of the GP’s getting an LD “premium” at a joint strategy meeting for those concerned with LD services, from someone who liased with GP’s and tried to take LD services more seriously (with mixed success).
26 pages worth … connected with identifying patients with learning disabilities … hence , the LD tag ?
I’ve now found the NHS “New GP Contract Payment Manual” but don’t have all day to go through it! I can’t find the LD payments here either, or where carers are supposed to be recorded. That was part of the Carers Recognition Act I think.
Carers Recognition Act … latest 2012 :
http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/51dea49770555ea6ca256da4001b90cd/023a825c23e20790ca2579c7000fb0bb/$FILE/12-010abookmarked.pdf
As far as I can see , nothing on general practitioners beyond " Obligations " to carers as so defined in the early part ?
Latest NHS GP Contract :
( Like cave exploring and finding numerous others off the main one ? )
Struggling again to identify anything on payments to gps … specifically relating to carers.
Maybe Carers UK would like to help us on this one?!
If gps were receiving payments for having " Carers " on their books , surely CUK would have used that as a lever … a quid per pro … to extract more
from the NHS in the way of support for carers ?
https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/news/the-nhs-long-term-plan
Reading what’s available , no mention beyond vague proposals ?
“There is no longer any national funding to help practices to identify and support carers. Initiatives such as those described in this report can cost time and money to implement (practice staff time, expenses, such as postage, printing costs, rental of rooms etc.). Practices have many competing priorities some of which, unlike the identification and support of carers, attract payments.”
This was in one of the reports from the link you put up.
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Initiatives such as those described in this report can cost time and money to implement (practice staff time, expenses, such as postage, printing costs, rental of rooms etc.)
Turning the clock back some 20 odd years , my success with the local gp surgery at the time was achieved from the opposite standpoint … how much carers save said gp surgery !
2019 … would same approach work ?
Only one way for any reader to find out … try it with your surgery !