Holyrood’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is today launching an inquiry into how people are getting help from the NHS, and asking how much patients and healthcare professionals really know about so-called ‘alternative pathways’ to phoning their GP for an appointment.

Reforms to urgent care have so far failed to persuade many people to contact NHS 24’s 111 helpline rather than going straight to their local emergency department with a non-life-threatening condition.

Meanwhile every home in the country has been sent a leaflet ‘accessing the right care from the right place’ setting out alternatives people should consider, such as going to their community pharmacist or a minor injury centre, before they book an appointment with their family doctor or take themselves to A&E

The NHS video consultation platform Near Me has been used widely through the pandemic by GPs, other healthcare professionals and some social care and third sector teams.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf had suggested that he wanted to see a return to more face-to-face appointments with GPs but then backed off from setting any targets.

The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee today launches a month long consultation to not only gauge people’s understanding of alternatives, but also looking at whether other primary healthcare professionals have the capacity to take on more patients.

The inquiry will also look at the role of social prescribing and technology in improving access to services.

Committee Convener, Gillian Martin MSP, says the aim of the inquiry is to explore how and to what extent alternative pathways are being used to access primary care, and to identify key issues and opportunities for improvement:

“The traditional model of primary care where you went to see a GP for any and all health issues is placing ever increasing pressure on GP services.

"This isn’t a sustainable situation for general practices – but it’s also not good for patients struggling to get a GP appointment when there may be alternative and better routes they could go down to get the healthcare they need.

“Through our detailed work on this inquiry, the committee is keen to explore what opportunities exist to make more and better use of these alternative routes to healthcare.

“We want to find out what role they have to play in creating a modern, flexible, community-based healthcare system which allows patients to access the right professional, at the right time.”

Healthcare professionals and organisations that want to respond to the consultation, which closes on 22 February, are asked to submit their views direct to the Scottish Parliament while individual members of the public are asked to fill out a survey to capture their views and experience.

Read more: £20m urgent care reforms need "rapid refinement"; Virtual appointments hit half a million milestone; ’No target’ for face to face GP appointments; GP MSP: Patient pathways increasingly "broken";

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