REFORM DIRECTION · 7.
Primary & Outpatient Healthcare
Most health needs should be addressed close to where people live. Strong primary and outpatient care must combine access, continuity and multidisciplinary collaboration.
A SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE
Patients should not have to assemble their own care from disconnected appointments. Primary care, outpatient specialists, diagnostics, pharmacy, rehabilitation and social care need shared information and clear responsibility.
NEZ considers access as more than time to the first appointment; it is the system’s ability to resolve a health need. Coordination should reduce duplication, information loss and avoidable referral to hospital.
AREAS OF WORK
What coherent change requires
A first contact that resolves
People should quickly reach a team able to assess need, begin care and guide the next stage of the pathway.
Complex-care coordination
People with multiple conditions need a shared plan, an accountable coordinator and regular treatment review.
Specialist collaboration
Professional-to-professional advice and shared information can prevent unnecessary appointments and delays.
Access according to need
The channel, timing and intensity of care should match urgency, risk and the patient’s circumstances.
INTENDED DIRECTION
Accessible care close to patients that resolves needs earlier, coordinates chronic conditions and connects safely with the rest of the system.
This page describes a direction of NEZ’s work, not a final legislative programme. Recommendations are developed through evidence, clinical practice, international comparison and feasibility review.