Primary care transformation in Scotland
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Transforming Primary Care in Scotland to meet the needs of an ageing population - are health inequalities being tackled?
IRAS ID
290092
Contact name
Stewart Mercer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 23 days
Research summary
Countries around the world are facing major population changes, especially with many people living to an older age. General Practice and primary care provides much of the healthcare care needs of such ageing populations. Scotland and the wider United Kingdom (UK) share many similar challenges in health and social care including an ageing population, growing numbers of people living with multi-morbidities (two or more chronic illnesses) and wide health inequalities between rich and poor.
In Scotland, significant recent changes have been made in primary care including the integration of primary care health and social care services and the formation of Health and Social Care Partnerships, a new Scotland-only GP contract which includes GP Practices working together in 'clusters' (of 5-8 GP practices) to improve the quality of care delivered to their local population, and significant expansion of other members of the primary care team (such as advanced practitioners in nursing, pharmacy, and physiotherapy).
One of the aims of the new GP contract was for GPs to have the space and time to spend with patients who need them the most especially with ageing patients living with multiple chronic illnesses.The aim of the study is to explore the effects of these recent changes in primary care in Scotland and to find out if these changes are meeting the needs of ageing patients with long-term conditions, as well as reducing health inequalities. To answer this we will do the following; (i) conduct interviews with key primary care stakeholders in Scotland; (ii) conduct interviews and focus groups with GP Cluster leads, GPs, health and social care professionals in primary care, multi-disciplinary team members and (iii) interview patients living with multiple chronic illnesses and conduct a patient questionnaire survey.
REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
21/WA/0078
Date of REC Opinion
10 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion