Covid: GP call-answering target 'unachievable' in pandemic
Getty ImagesGP surgeries face losing out on thousands of pounds because the Welsh Government will not relax an "unachievable" target, a doctor says.
The GP, who wants to remain anonymous, told BBC Wales an aim set before the Covid pandemic to answer 90% of calls within two minutes should be relaxed.
BMA Cymru has also "petitioned strongly" for the target's suspension.
But the Welsh Government said Covid only made it "more important" that calls were answered in a timely manner.
In a review of the policy published in January, the Welsh Government said it had "reworded" the target but not scrapped it.
The GP said surgery staff already had "immense workloads" from the Covid vaccine rollout and did not have time to hit other goals.
They said their surgery faced losing out on about £9,000 of extra cash because it will not hit the target by the 31 March deadline.
"Understandably there's disgust at this approach by GPs throughout Wales," they said.
"It's as if we're not actually in a pandemic. At the same time secondary care are rightly not penalised for not providing a normal service.
"It's a push normally [to achieve it] but we work hard to achieve it. Not because it's [Wales' Health Minister] Vaughan Gething's wish but because it's what we want to do.
"Last summer we only just managed it and that was when the background patient-contact numbers were probably 60% of current ones.
"And we're now delivering a major part of the immunisation scheme which involves our staff on the phone all day contacting patients.
"We're pretty much expected to pick up most routine services, large additional Covid workloads, and the vaccination work. And then get penalised financially."
Why were the targets introduced?
The targets were brought in under the Welsh Quality Assurance and Improvement Framework's Access to In-Hours GMS Services Standards.
The report identified issues that many patients had getting access to their GP across Wales and set targets for surgeries to improve.
Among the goals published in March last year was that "90% of calls are answered within two minutes of the recorded message ending".
The report had eight standards spread across two categories. Reaching all eight would give a surgery 100 points plus 25 bonus points - earning it a financial reward from the Welsh Government.
But failure to achieve one would see the bonus lost and the total drop considerably.
The doctor said an average-sized GP surgery would lose more than £8,000 by not hitting the two-minute target.
Dr Phil White, chairman of BMA Cymru Welsh GPs' Committee, said it had "petitioned strongly" that the target should be "suspended, referencing the increasing telephone traffic in and out of practices due to the Covid pandemic workload, the practice administration of the Covid vaccination programme and the reintroduction of shielding.
"Unfortunately, Welsh Government are wedded to the standard and despite our persuasive argument have rejected our request to suspend this indicator," he added.
'Additional investment of up to £9.2m'
A Welsh Government spokesperson said it had responded to BMA Cymru on 21 January.
The response said it did not "believe this is appropriate, telephone access and the time taken for calls to be answered continue to be important during the current period, ensuring patients have timely access to urgent primary medical advice, this measure will therefore remain in place for achievement at 31 March 2021".
The spokesperson added: "We provided £3.7m in 2019/20 to GP practices in Wales to invest in new digital telephony systems to improve services for their patients. A further £7.5m of funding was allocated in June 2020 for practices achieving the In Hours Access Standards.
"This investment has been crucial during the pandemic to help practices provide services over the telephone and on video platforms.
"Due to coronavirus, it is now more important than ever that patients calling their GP practice have their calls answered in a timely manner to receive urgent care and advice. Practices achieving the In Hours Access Standards by 31 March 2021 could receive a share of an additional investment of up to £9.2m.
"The funding available for achievement of the standards is on top of the £420m of funding that is already paid directly to GP practices across Wales throughout the year."