Doctors in Nottinghamshire see slightly fewer patients than the amount seen by England’s average, new NHS data shows.
Data provided by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) – which commissions general practice to deliver primary medical services – shows that in total, 644,260 appointments took place in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in November 2022.
But the England average for the same period was 743,551 appointments.
The ICB has shared the data with Nottinghamshire County Council ahead of a health scrutiny committee meeting on February 21.
At the meeting, healthcare bosses, including Lucy Dadge, Director of Integration at the ICB, will speak to councillors.
Papers state that the local NHS system has been under “unprecedented pressure” recently with critical incidents in July 2022, September 2022 and December 2022.
But the council says access to GP services is a “recurring issue raised by residents”.
Across the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, there are 131 general practices across a population of over 1.2 million people.
And data shows the system is dealing with high demand for appointments, despite the number being slightly less than the England average.
In October 2022, 653,783 appointments took place locally, compared to the England average of 761,657 appointments.
The papers state that workforce demand is also a “challenge” with vacancies and sickness levels.
Data provided to the council shows the number of face-to-face appointments is on the rise.
During the pandemic, many appointments were only on the phone or video call to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Data from November 2022 shows that the number of face-to-face appointments has increased to 442,2001 in comparison to 402,132 in November 2021.
NHS papers state: “A priority for NHS England is to ensure that a range of types of appointments are available to patients, and practices are required to offer and promote online consultations and video consultations to their patients.
“As a result, access to the different types of appointments offered by practices has also increased.
“Despite all the challenges, an increase in the number of appointments, delivered by general practice, has been demonstrated.”
The papers will be discussed at the health scrutiny meeting next week.
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