By Pash Sonigra on November 14, 2024
2024 has been jam-packed full of events, and as ever, we never miss an opportunity to take the temperature of the room. Last year, the buzz was all about the shiny new “meds op indicators.” While exciting, they were still fresh in everyone’s minds.
Fast forward a year, and nearly everyone we heard from painted a slightly different picture.
CPC North 24 Highlights – Spirit Stand
Cost savings a balancing act
One thing remains clear: cost savings are still a top concern, but achieving them seems to be getting trickier. With ICBs (Integrated Care Boards) holding the key, they need to define what success looks like. From cost savings to improved patient outcomes, long waiting lists to improved access (and everything in between)– the more straightforward question is, what’s not a target?
The real crux of the matter lies in the ‘how’. How will all the parts come together to build a successful system?
Against a challenging financial landscape, changes in government, the Darzi review recommendations, and the Autumn Budget, it feels like 2024 has been a rollercoaster of a year. Luckily, the broad direction of travel is now clearly in view.
I think the new ‘injection’ of money will quickly be gobbled up by inflation so savings and productivity will feature front and centre on ICB agendas in the form of prescribing budgets.
Across our events, a big bugbear was frustrations around savings achieved at primary care being (at least in part) reinvested into primary care. Here’s where the ‘how’ becomes really important in terms of whole system buy-in – everyone wants to see the benefit of the hard work they put in.
An interest in deprescribing
Interestingly, deprescribing cropped up a few times, and half of everyone who bought it up was from secondary care. It makes sense that tackling polypharmacy is part of the medicines’ optimisation indicators, and reducing unnecessary medications can improve patient outcomes and hospital admissions.
Perhaps these are signs of a systemwide collaborative approach to this challenge? I’m keeping an eye on this as I strongly believe this is the right thing for patient care.
Where’s the patient care focus?
Last year, patient care improvement was a major talking point, in fact it was 25% of our event poll results. This year, its presence seemed…muted (14%). Has it fallen victim to the ever-evolving NHS agenda? Or perhaps it’s subtly been woven into other priorities? We often ask healthcare teams these questions, and their responses always land on, ‘whilst it’s important, they feel the focus has shifted to cost savings as the year has worn on.’
To make sure it is still front and centre, ICB finance teams have to hold it up as their priority as well and consider patient-centred care while addressing financial deficiencies even if costs keep plaguing the headlines.
Health inequalities – a complex issue
The Core20Plus5 approach to tackling health inequalities unsurprisingly took centre stage last year due to timing. However, discussions with healthcare professionals this year showed a shift in emphasis, with many asking how we implement effective solutions.
This doesn’t downplay the importance of addressing inequalities, it simply underscores the need for concrete action plans. It’s clear that closing the gap would have positive long-term patient outcomes in the most deprived areas and undoubtedly keep people away from costly hospital stays, but the effort to keep up the momentum seems to feel like a drop in the ocean.
The numbers speak volumes
Spirit Health has significant experience supporting the NHS. On a strategic level we can provide independent reviews of your current projects and pipeline. This can shine a light on a few tweaks here and there to speed up processes whilst still achieving the best care for your patients.
What you may know us for is our hugely popular Active Implementation service -where we support ICSs unlock money against their prescribing budgets. Through our national clinical team, we help medicines optimisation teams get the job done at ground level across their GPs without disturbing daily workstreams.
Why not check out what we have going on, by clicking here.
Keep in touch
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