Abstract
In 2014, the NHS introduced a new policy aimed at improving health in older age. It said that everyone aged 75 and over should have their healthcare managed by a ‘named and accountable’ general practitioner (GP) to keep them healthy and out of hospital. This means that whenever a patient needs advice or treatment from their surgery or health centre, a particular GP is responsible for their healthcare needs.
At the University of Bristol, we conduct research about how well the NHS delivers
healthcare, so we were interested to see if this new policy made a difference. We were keen to look at two things: firstly, if the policy did lead to older patients seeing the same GP more often, and secondly, if the new policy reduced emergency hospital admission. We studied healthcare information about
thousands of older people living in England which had been gathered over the course of 4 years: 2-year period before and 2-year period after the new policy was introduced, allowing us to compare healthcare received over time.
Using this information, we found no improvement in older patients seeing more
often the same GP, and no reduction in their emergency hospital admission.
We have some ideas about why this policy may not have improved matters but are keen to know what YOU think?
At the University of Bristol, we conduct research about how well the NHS delivers
healthcare, so we were interested to see if this new policy made a difference. We were keen to look at two things: firstly, if the policy did lead to older patients seeing the same GP more often, and secondly, if the new policy reduced emergency hospital admission. We studied healthcare information about
thousands of older people living in England which had been gathered over the course of 4 years: 2-year period before and 2-year period after the new policy was introduced, allowing us to compare healthcare received over time.
Using this information, we found no improvement in older patients seeing more
often the same GP, and no reduction in their emergency hospital admission.
We have some ideas about why this policy may not have improved matters but are keen to know what YOU think?
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | media article |
| Media of output | text |
| Publisher | Bristol Older People's Forum |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Mar 2019 |