AGM Report 2007 From Chairman Vijay Sonthalia
AGM of Lanarkshire Local Medical Committee
28th April 2008
Chairmans’ Report
Welcome to yet another AGM. Not many among us here would disagree if I say that it has been another very challenging year not only for LMC but for NHS Lanarkshire as well.
Some one famous once said” If government was a product, it would be illegal”
We are all aware of the time and effort that went into ‘Reconfiguration of acute services within Lanarkshire’ then to learn suddenly one fine morning it has been reversed by the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. We are all back to square one i.e back to the drawing board. The only positive in this is that the decision has been made and we can now plan for the future. I am an optimist and I believe that the future of General practice in Lanarkshire will be bright. There is a pledge of record breaking investment in the development of Primary Care over next five years.
We have once again excelled ourselves in delivering a very high standard of patient care over 2007/08. Our unconfirmed QOF achievement before payment verification this year has been 981 up slightly as compared to 972 last year. We may have the worst premises, inadequate support services and poor staffing to patient ratio but we continue to deliver Quality patient care. Every primary care team in Lanarkshire deserves to be congratulated.
We have had 9 meetings since AGM last year. Average attendance has increased from 15 to 17 which reflect your commitment to this committee. We have had several invited speakers to GP-Sub: We had Ben Younes Consultant Surgeon talked to us re;’ Straight to Test Pilot’, Charles Clark on ‘Assisted Conception’, Alison Graham on ‘Acute Services Redesign’ Anne Armstrong on’ Community Nursing Redesign’ Christine Gilmour on’ Safer Management of Controlled Drugs’. I accept that some of the speakers may have received warmer reception than others. The discussion and debate we had on Referral Management Service is not something one can easily forget.
We have been fortunate in recruiting Charlie’s three angels namely Caroline Gilchrist, Susan Arnott and Tyra Hogben, all of them are younger, dedicated, enthusiastic and good looking. Douglas Colville representing Cam Glen locality is yet another extremely useful addition to this committee, with him he brings valuable experience and wisdom.
Our Levy payers have increased from 63 to 81 practices over last 2 years. There are still 17 practices out there that need persuasion.
We have had an extremely busy year. A substantial proportion of our time has been spent discussing and debating Monklands hospital A/E review, from scenario B to scenario G. We were able to address our concerns regarding some of this scenario to the Chair and CMT of NHSL Board at the joint AMC and GP Sub meeting. There is work ongoing regarding ‘improving Clinical Engagement with CMT’ through Area Clinical Forum. The primary care as you are aware has a much stronger voice now at the Area Medical committee.
Several members of this committee are playing the key roles as clinical advisor to various committees in Lanarkshire e.g:
New contract Negotiations.
Contract monitoring and steering.
Area drugs and therapeutics.
IM & T
Premises
Research and Ethics
Unscheduled and OOHR Care
Primary care Modernisation Board
Health improvement board.
etc the list is endless.
The noticeable achievements have been in Negotiation of Enhanced services especially the New Scottish enhanced services Programme. The Redesign of Care Homes Enhanced Service is now complete and initial phase in East Kilbride was launched on 1st April 2008. The service is still in infancy but I am confident that it will slowly evolve.
LMC Website was launched this year, credit for that goes entirely to Michael Coates who managed to dedicate time to the project despite extremely busy work schedule. Hopefully this will enhance communication between LMC and its members.
There is a huge Capital Investment plan well in excess of 150M over next 5 years which will cover 8 Key primary care developments like Airdie, Bellshill and Carluke Resource Centres. Coatbridge Primary Care and Dental centre business case is already approved. We are getting an additional half million each year over next 5 years towards revenue to improve other GP owned primary care premises. So there is a lot of work to do over next year.
Most of us have very serious concerns regarding this governments handling of NHS. We are rightly outraged at their unwillingness to negotiate with GPC over the issue of Extended Hours DES. The national poll confirmed that 97% of GPs are opposed to both A and B impositions but have reluctantly accepted option A because it was less bad. Lanarkshire GPs, I am very proud to say, have been the most emotive and most expressive on this issue and rightly so. This debate is not over yet but it has only just started. There is plenty to do and all of us have plenty to say on this issue.
When I was a kid my dad used to say “If you enjoy your work son, you will never have to work in your life” I really enjoy doing LMC work and the credit for that goes to my best pal Colette. She has been a true friend, very supportive, extremely understanding and fun to work with. Now she controls not only my actions but as treasurer she has control over the purse strings as well. Thank you Colette!
We have had full commitment and dedication from Lynn Duff until a few months ago when a couple of little priorities arrived in her world, they rightly deserve her full attention for a while.
Allen Blincow has always been there like a big brother watching, offering his full support and guidance. His contribution towards day to day functioning of this committee is something that can not be quantified.
Laurence Bell once again stood out clearly by his involvement and sincere commitment to LMC business. The meetings here would be dull and boring but for contributions from Alan Moffett and David Walker. They add spice in the discussions.
Shiona Mackie I always felt understood primary care and she was fully committed to this committee, I wish her a happy and healthy retirement. She rarely missed a meeting and we hope her replacement, when appointed, understands us equally well.
Mary Church retired after several years of contributions to this committee and she helped raise the profile of Lanarkshire through out UK. Jim Rodger retired after dedicating several years as the treasurer. We thank him for his work.
As now I spend more time in LMC office I am discovering how vigorously Anne McCallum works on a daily basis and she is not only efficient but she also has a sense of humour. I thank her for her help.
My gratitude once again goes to Neil Agnew who gives up so much of quality family time on Monday evenings to be with us. In his absence these meetings will never run as efficiently. Neil’s contribution to this committee and most of the other professional advisory structures is invaluable. My final thanks are to all of you for your support.
