General practice share thoughts on capacity and demand in Waitaha Canterbury

28 August 2023

More than 200 general practice staff from across Waitaha Canterbury shared their thoughts and experiences regarding the growing pressures on general practice, in a survey conducted throughout June.

The survey was sent out by the Primary Care Taskforce (PCTF), established earlier this year to coordinate local leadership on strategies to address the increasing capacity pressures in primary care, which are affecting our communities’ access to services. 

The survey explored four key areas:

• Current issues affecting capacity in general practice.
• Current and future workforce shortages.
• Initiatives implemented or planned to increase capacity.
• Suggestions on where and how the PCTF should focus its efforts.

Responses highlighted the need to reduce and manage increasing clinical administration more effectively. They also emphasised the importance of both recruiting and retaining General Practitioners (GPs) and Practice Nurses (PNs) and the need to diversify primary care teams by including additional healthcare staff, such as clinical assistants, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners.

Speaking on behalf of the PCTF, Chair Kim Burgess stated "the group was thrilled with both the number of responses and the well-considered and comprehensive feedback."

“This highlights the passion and motivation from practice teams to improve our community’s access to primary care and the value they place on supporting this local work,” stated Kim.

“We created the survey to guide the work of the PCTF to enhance models and make changes locally that will reduce the demand on general practice and improve community access to care. It will also be used to advocate to local and national bodies.”

The need to minimise unnecessary administration came through clearly in the survey results. As a result, the PCTF is focusing on helping practice teams adopt more efficient ways to manage inboxes and referrals. This work will involve close collaboration with colleagues in secondary care, who are also facing growing capacity issues.

The PCTF are also running a series of focus groups exploring possible ways to retain GPs and PNs who are contemplating leaving or retirement and exploring ways to increase involvement of other potential team members, including clinical assistants and practice based clinical pharmacists. 

The PCTF is also working with partners to find ways to incorporate/ implement local solutions in response to this feedback.

Download a summary of the survey results (PDF).