Hello everyone! Today is Monday May 13th and we had an exciting day. We first woke up at 7:30 in order to be in the lobby by 8:30 to depart for Birmingham City University. Once we got there, we grabbed some coffee and went upstairs for our first lecture. 

The first lecture was by two nurses who are clinically retired but still attend many events. They gave us stickers to celebrate national nurses day which was yesterday! They proceeded to explain their role within the healthcare system which is playing a key role in transforming and delivering the National Health Service (NHS) primary care workforce of the future. Their goal is to ensure patients receive quality care from experienced healthcare professionals. They also promote primary care as a desirable place to work.

They explained the in depth definition of primary care which is healthcare provided in the community for people making an initial approach to a medical practitioner or clinic for advice or treatment. They provide the first point of contact within the system.

You may be wondering, how is the NHS funded within the UK? Well it is mainly funded by the government from general taxes, but all working people pay a national insurance fund where a small amount goes to support the NHS. One thing I learned was that all General Practice Surgeries are independently owned businesses and have been since the start of the NHS in 1948. 

The UK seems to have more help on the front lines of healthcare due to the NHS since they can take anyone, but the wait times are insane to the point where it may not be so great after all. For example, one of the presenter’s brothers was diagnosed with cancer. The wait time for a scan was one month, but if he paid extra he could have received the scan that afternoon. This leads back to socioeconomic status and the struggles people within a low status face. Our only door that is open like this is the ER because they will take patients regardless of insurance. All of our other places require our insurance cards before providing treatment. 

Our speakers also mentioned information about their Primary Care Network (PCN). This is a network of practices that work with providers to improve the health of patients in their locality with shared funding for the community. Some examples are respiratory services, wound care services, urology services, and dermatology services.

The Integrated Care System/Board (ICS/ICB) is a partnership between organizations that meet health and care needs across the area. The Quality Outcomes Framework is a clinical domain that relates to long term or enduring medical conditions. As part of the General Medical Services Contract, practices hold registers and have to meet specific targets for their management. This is done through benchmarking.

The presenters also provided us with information on NHS prescription charges which I found very interesting in comparison to ours. Only certain groups are entitled to free NHS prescriptions such as state benefits or pregnancy. The prescription charge is currently 9.65 pounds for each item. Those who pay for prescriptions regularly can pre pay 31.25 pounds for 3 months or 11.60 for 12 months which definitely helps with financial problems! One thing I found interesting was the fact that those with long term conditions are medically exempt from paying prescription charges. Examples would be diabetes, thyroid cancer, colostomy, etc. If one is over the age of 65, they are able to get free prescriptions! There are also free prescriptions for children under the age of 16 and those who are taking a full time education such as college students. 

One problem that the healthcare system is working to fix is the assumption that one is not receiving proper care if they do not see their family doctor. This is not the case at all and actually prevents people from receiving proper care and in a timely fashion. 

Next, our presenters brought in two general practice nurses, Katie and Leanne, who graduated from BCU! They described some certain tasks they perform such as wound care, phlebotomy, ECGs, cervical cytology, immunizations, health checks, etc. 

We went on a lunch break for an hour. Then, we came back and completed an escape room with the knowledge we gained today! After that, we had an hour or so to prepare for a big presentation. The presentation was a huge success and we all had a great time presenting what we learned.

Good night and thank you for tuning in! I’ll write again tomorrow!