Agenda and minutes

None.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 6 March 2025.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2025 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

To receive an update on the work of the Joint Health & Overview Scrutiny Committee.

Due to the local elections taking place in Shropshire, the Co-Chair advised that the Joint Health & Overview Scrutiny Committee had been unable to meet and meetings would resume following the conclusion of the pre-election period.

To receive an update on the work of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

The Director: Health & Wellbeing advised that the meeting due to be held on 20 March 2025 was postponed and had been rescheduled to take place on 21 May 2025.

To receive the Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin GP Access Report 2024.

The Committee received a presentation from the Chief Executive, Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin on the GP Access Report published in September 2024 which outlined the results of a survey conducted between August and December 2023.

The survey aimed to explore patient satisfaction at GP practice-level and received over 9,200 responses. The survey consisted of 21 questions exploring methods for accessing appointments, ease of access, suitability of appointments offered, experiences with, and confidence in clinical and non-clinical staff, general perceptions of general practice and ideas for service improvement. Members heard that the largest group of respondents were those aged between 50 – 64 years old. Just under a quarter of respondents were those identified as having a disability and over half of respondents were identified as having a long-term health condition.

The report highlighted key concerns for residents accessing GP services with over half of respondents rating their experience of making their last appointment as poor. Key barriers included long telephone queues, limited ability to book in advance and the removal of face-to-face booking at GP practice reception areas. Many respondents described the booking process as inflexible, particularly for those working full-time or lacking digital access. While there was some correlation between poor experiences and higher deprivation scores in the Borough, this was not consistent across all practices.

Some respondents reported negative experiences with call centre-style systems, citing a lack of access to medical records and poor continuity of care. Some practices only offered same-day appointments, which were not suitable for non-urgent issues. The survey results also highlighted the frustration felt by respondents with a general feeling that services were stretched beyond capacity. Wide appointment windows for telephone consultations caused inconvenience, and patients were often told to call 111 or attend A&E if no GP appointments were available. Despite these challenges, once an appointment had been secured, the majority reported positive experiences with clinical staff.

At the time of the meeting, GP practices had been delivering 15% more appointments than during Covid-19. Practices were being encouraged to review demand patterns and ensure adequate staffing at peak times. As a result of the survey, Healthwatch outlined 15 recommendations to improve access, including upgrading telephone systems, reintroducing advance booking options, providing more face-to-face and online booking opportunities, further training for reception staff to improve empathy and communication, and increasing the visibility and role of non-GP staff to support access.

Members heard that work was already underway to address these issues. Practices had been encouraged to review demand patterns and ensure adequate staffing during peak times. From October 2025, all practices will be contractually required to offer online appointment systems, regardless of capacity. Practices are also being supported to improve call handling, including callback options and better staffing during peak times. However, implementation varies between practices, and efforts are ongoing to ensure more consistent service delivery across the borough.

The report also outlined two further phases of work to be undertaken by Healthwatch. Phase 2 would look to produce individual reports for each GP  ...  view the full minutes text for item HAC-27

To review the updated Work Programme for the Health Scrutiny Committee.

The Senior Democracy Officer: Scrutiny presented the updated work programme to the Committee. Members were advised that there were no further meetings scheduled to take place for the 2024/25 municipal year and any remaining items on the work programme would be carried forward into the next year.

The Chair thanked Members for their contributions over the municipal year.