Cluster Work Summary
In recent years, Welsh Government has been encouraging practices to work more closely together in order to share resources, increase uptake of specialised services, and to generally improve quality of patient care.
Prior to 2014 this was known as QP work, however since then the 'GP Cluster Network Domain' has played an important part in the GP contract, and has now become the 'Primary Care Cluster Networks' as we increasingly look to involve our non-GP colleagues in the area.
There are many areas in which the Primary Care clusters work together, including, but not limited to:
- Reviewing innovative practice both locally and nationally.
- Facilitating pharmacists working within practices in our Cluster to improve actions such as: medication reviews, consideration of prescribing guidelines, review of hospital discharge summaries, and dealing with patient queries; with the resultant freeing of GP time for seeing patients.
- Placement of Mental Health Practitioners within our Practices, to help to select patients who will benefit from several sessions of one-to-one assessment/management with the associated improvements in wellbeing. See MIND page.
- Reviewing good practice to:
- Improve cancer diagnoses
- Improve end of life care
- Reduce risks of polypharmacy (when patients take multiple medications),
and for 2017/18:
-Assessment of Liver disease, COPD (chronic chest disease) and the diagnosis of and management of mental-health problems.
Investment in equipment and resources to hopefully further improve access/awareness of Primary Care Services, with for instance aids for patients who are hard of hearing, stands discussing our work at suitable public forums and of course this website itself.
We continue to look forward to other areas we can develop, and will keep our patient population posted in the months and years to come.
Prior to 2014 this was known as QP work, however since then the 'GP Cluster Network Domain' has played an important part in the GP contract, and has now become the 'Primary Care Cluster Networks' as we increasingly look to involve our non-GP colleagues in the area.
There are many areas in which the Primary Care clusters work together, including, but not limited to:
- Reviewing innovative practice both locally and nationally.
- Facilitating pharmacists working within practices in our Cluster to improve actions such as: medication reviews, consideration of prescribing guidelines, review of hospital discharge summaries, and dealing with patient queries; with the resultant freeing of GP time for seeing patients.
- Placement of Mental Health Practitioners within our Practices, to help to select patients who will benefit from several sessions of one-to-one assessment/management with the associated improvements in wellbeing. See MIND page.
- Reviewing good practice to:
- Improve cancer diagnoses
- Improve end of life care
- Reduce risks of polypharmacy (when patients take multiple medications),
and for 2017/18:
-Assessment of Liver disease, COPD (chronic chest disease) and the diagnosis of and management of mental-health problems.
Investment in equipment and resources to hopefully further improve access/awareness of Primary Care Services, with for instance aids for patients who are hard of hearing, stands discussing our work at suitable public forums and of course this website itself.
We continue to look forward to other areas we can develop, and will keep our patient population posted in the months and years to come.