Achieving in the healthcare market

Although most GPs and managers now recognise that practices are businesses, some have been slow to realise the full implications.
Whilst managing budgets, providing a service to patients and dealing with change within the NHS are all part of general practice, competition is a new concept. Even if there has been little interaction between neighbouring practices, it is unlikely they viewed each other as serious competition. Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) is changing this.

Practices may need to compete, not just with other NHS practices, but with the private sector as well. Workload management therefore will take on even greater significance. Practices need to know exactly what demands are being placed upon them and what capacity they have to respond if they are to compete.

The challenge:

NHS access targets
Population demand
Health inequalities

Role of the Workload Analysis Tool

Focus on quality of data - believing your data is accurate
Positive feedback to teams – motivating and rewarding staff to give their best
Identifies areas for change – accurate data provides the evidence to write business cases
Monitor changes – new clinics or services can be monitored

The Solution

A proactive approach to improving local services
Managing the demand
Reduced waiting times for patients
Commissioning new services based on accurate data
Potential cost saving

Case study

For one inner-city, multi-cultural practice, the WAT highlighted a huge musculo-skeletal workload. The tool identified that many of these consultations were resulting in a physiotherapy referral.

Because of the high referral rate waiting time for an appointment and course of treatment was unacceptable. The practice commissioned a physiotherapy service local to the surgery.

Waiting times were reduced, patient access to the service improved and the savings that resulted in the local service were reinvested in the practice. Musculo-skeletal consultations in the practice reduced and were monitored with the WAT.