Big Community Conversation questions and answers - National Health Services

NTSP Big Community Conversation Questions and Answers

Please see a list of the questions you can find below. Please scroll down to find the answers to each question.

How can GP appointment systems be improved to allow easier and quicker access? e.g. Can we move beyond 8:30am-only triage calls? How can the NHS better support full-time workers to get appointments? Can working people get lunchtime or out-of-hours options? Can appointment access be made fairer across different GP practices?.
Why is it so hard to speak to or see a GP in person?.
Why did same-day appointments disappear post-COVID?.
Why are GP and hospital waiting times so long, and what’s being done to fix this?.
Can we introduce more GP surgeries in new housing estates?.
Can walk-in services (e.g., mole checks) be introduced?.
Why are primary care networks no longer geographic, and how is that affecting service delivery?
How can the NHS provide more joined-up care, especially for patients with multiple health needs?
Why is access to NHS dentists so limited, and what’s being done to improve this?.
What’s being done to preserve or replace Healthwatch as an independent voice for patients?
How can NHS services become more accessible for vulnerable groups (disabled people, older people and people with a learning difficulty?.
How can the NHS offer more preventative (rather than reactive) care?.
How can the NHS make patients feel more heard and respected?.
How can the system better clarify when to use Rake Lane vs Cramlington?.
Can local services at North Tyneside Hospital be reinstated to reduce travel burdens?
How can hospital services be made more consistent and reliable?
How can the NHS better support full-time workers to get appointments?
How are A&E wait times, especially at night, being addressed?.
What is being done to improve communication between services after hospital discharge?
Can we simplify NHS App registration and digital access?
What steps are being taken to reduce mental health treatment waiting times, including for talking therapy?
What is being done to improve mental health services across all age groups in North Tyneside?
What support is being provided for young people with SEND, autism, and ADHD?.
Where is the current drug and alcohol rehab provision now that Oaktrees has closed?
I will ask to add another "question" about what mental health services there are in NT to set the scene around improvements

1. How can GP appointment systems be improved to allow easier and quicker access?

- Can we move beyond 8:30am-only triage calls?

GP surgeries are making it easier for people to get in touch. You can call, go online, or visit in person. In North Tyneside, you can also use the Livi app to see a GP by phone or tablet. The Pharmacy First service means you can get help for common illnesses at your local pharmacy. Find out more about Pharmacy First.

This is to tackle the 8am rush by making it easier for the public to contact their practice. It will also help patients know the same day how their request will be handled. Telephone systems and online consultation tools are being improved. Practices are working to a plan from NHS England called the Modern General Practice Model. This is to help GP practice teams direct patients to the right care, from the right person, at the right time.

From 1 October 2025 practices will have to keep their online consultation tool open during core hours [08:00-18:30]. This is for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries and admin requests.

- How can the NHS better support full-time workers to get appointments? Can working people get lunchtime or out-of-hours options?

GP Practices offer evening and weekend appointments. Some of these appointments are available at your practice, others are at local hubs. Times vary depending on hub or practice. Generally, appointments are available between 7-8am and 5:30 – 8pm.

Also in North Tyneside, patients have access to Livi for GP appointments by a phone or tablet app. Livi offers appointments from 7am until 10pm during the week, including at lunchtime and from 8am until 4pm at weekends including bank holidays.

The hospital offers video or phone consultations as appropriate to save travel to hospital. The hospital contact centre is available to re-arrange appointments to a suitable time to fit around your work commitments.

- Can appointment access be made fairer across different GP practices?

Each GP surgery is different. Some have more patients or staff than others, so they can’t all offer the same things. But you can choose which GP surgery you go to. List of GP practices in your local area. And you can see what people say about each GP practice, from the GP patient survey results.

2. Why is it so hard to speak to or see a GP in person?

GP practices in England are experiencing growing pressure due to declining GP numbers and rising patient demand. As of April 2025, GP appointments in England have increased by approximately 19% compared to April 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each practice must manage the needs of their patients. They must offer online consultations and video consultations, as well as allowing patients to contact them by telephone and in person. This is to help people see the right clinician, at the right time.

In February 2025, 60% of GP appointments were face-to-face. In March 2025 64% of GP appointments were delivered face-to-face. Data from NHS England.

3. Why did same-day appointments disappear post-COVID?

Same day appointments are still available across North Tyneside GP Practices. GP practices can only safely provide a certain number of appointments per day depending on the staff they have available. Practices decide how those appointments are scheduled throughout the day to ensure there is a mix of ‘same day’ and ‘pre-bookable’ appointments.

Practices use care navigation and clinical triage to determine the clinical need to determine what appointment may be suitable and with the right clinical practitioner for the need.

There are several factors that drive the time from a booking to an appointment. This includes appointment availability at the practice, patient availability, the urgency of the appointment and GP advice. It should be noted that while patients may feel that their appointment is urgent, patients will be triaged to determine the urgency of their issue. Where it is clinically appropriate to wait, patients may not be offered an appointment on the same day.

4. Why are GP and hospital waiting times so long, and what’s being done to fix this?

GP practices in England are experiencing growing pressure due to declining GP numbers and rising patient demand. Each full-time GP is now responsible for an average of 2,257 patients. To help improve this we have:

brought in digital triage systems to streamline the booking process. This helps us more efficiently allocate appointments.
increased GP Recruitment. The addition of over 2,000 new GPs has expanded capacity, enabling more face-to-face consultations.
Had investment from the government to upgrade GP surgeries to facilitate more in-person appointments.

We know how important waiting times are for people, especially when they come to hospital. Your time is precious, and we know how frustrating it can be when patients are kept waiting. That’s why this has been a real area of focus for Northumbria Healthcare Trust recently.

Across Northumbria we now have some of the lowest NHS waiting times and shortest waiting lists in the country. You can see our current performance and how we compare against other parts of the country on the NHS England website.

However, we can still do more, and we want to improve this even further in the coming months and years. We want to reassure everyone that we are doing everything possible to get this right.

5. Can we introduce more GP surgeries in new housing estates?

There are currently no plans to introduce new GP surgeries into new housing estates. However, existing GP practices can choose to expand into new housing estates. The process to considering the impact of new homes on local healthcare facilities can be found in this government factsheet about new homes and healthcare facilities.

6. Can walk-in services (e.g., mole checks) be introduced?

GP practices can only safely provide a certain number of appointments per day depending on the staff they have available. Practices decide how those appointments are scheduled throughout the day to ensure there is a mix of ‘same day’ and ‘pre-bookable’ appointments. Setting up walk-in services would reduce the availability of other appointments.

7. Why are primary care networks no longer geographic, and how is that affecting service delivery?

If practices wish to change the primary care network, they can apply to the integrated care board. Membership of a primary care network will be down to local agreement and not geography dependent on the needs of the local population.

This could be because a different primary network might offer things that would better complement their service. Or, following a change in management, they may wish to be in a primary care network with practices run by the same new management. The ICB would look at possible benefits and risks to patients before making a decision.

9. Why is access to NHS dentists so limited, and what’s being done to improve this?

It has been getting harder for people to see a dentist, particularly as a new patient. There has been a reduction in NHS dental staff and increase in patient demand. We are looking at ways to make it easier to get a routine dental appointment. We are:

Increasing the rate paid to dentists to deliver NHS dental care.
Offering dental practices the opportunity to be paid to deliver more than their contracted level of activity.
Making funding available to support practices in our most deprived communities or in areas where NHS services have been lost.
Working with our local dental networks and committees and NHS England Regional Workforce Training and Education Directorate to stabilise, upskill and grow the dental workforce.

We are also doing a lot of work to increase urgent care and access to specialist services across the region. We are:

Increasing the number of urgent care appointments available from dental practices.
Providing more urgent out-of-hours appointments.
Providing additional dental clinical assessment workforce and triage capacity within the NHS 111 service.
Building a network of Urgent Dental Access Centres to treat patients with the greatest clinical needs.
Increasing specialist orthodontic and oral surgery capacity where required to help patients access the services they need quicker.

You can read more about this in our Oral Health and Dental Strategy 2025-27.

10. What’s being done to preserve or replace Healthwatch as an independent voice for patients?

The government has proposed that Healthwatch functions are moved to integrated care boards. However, this will need a change of legislation. We therefore do not know how this will work in the future.

11. How can NHS services become more accessible for vulnerable groups (disabled people, older people and people with a learning difficulty?

The NHS is doing lots of work to make services more accessible. And also to make care more person-centred. This includes:

The reasonable adjustment flag. This is a digital marker in a patient's NHS record that tells staff about any support a patient needs. This could be things like longer appointments, quiet waiting areas, or communication support. In the North East and North Cumbria, the Learning Disability Network leads on this work.
The Accessible Information Standard. Health and care services need to know what people's disability related information needs are. And then provide information in the right format. E.g. if someone need information in Braille, easy read or in sign language.
The North East and North Cumbria Digital Inclusion Strategy - which aims to make sure people aren't excluded from digital services such as apps and websites. The aim is for- digital services to be easy to use,
The aim is for digital services to be easy to use, face to face services will be available for people who can't use digital services and to improve digital literacy.

12. How can the NHS offer more preventative (rather than reactive) care?

Stopping people from getting ill is a priority in the NHS 10 year plan. The NHS will use things like better technology, health checks, and support in local communities to help people stay healthy. This includes things like helping people quit smoking, eat better, and get care at home or nearby. Doctors will work together more closely, and patients will have more control over their own health using tools like the NHS App. The goal is to catch problems early and help everyone live longer, healthier lives.

13. How can the NHS make patients feel more heard and respected?

The NHS Constitution puts patients at the heart of everything the NHS does. We strive to make patients feel more heard and respected. There are lots of initiatives to help improve this. For example, published in August 2025, You and Your General Practice will help patients to give feedback and raise concerns. In Northumbria Health Care Trust, they monitor people's feedback in real time to improve services daily. You can also tell the organisation which plans and pays for health services in our area what you think. Tell the Integrated Care Board What You Think.

14. Why is there still no A&E at Rake Lane, especially with an aging local population?

The model for providing urgent and emergency care in the area was changed in 2015. After significant consultation and engagement with local people. This led to significant investment in a new, centralised emergency care hospital. This is in Cramlington.

By separating emergency and planned care it has provided a better overall health and care service. These changes have seen significant improvements in the outcomes for people, particularly for patients over the age of 80 with treatable conditions.

Rake Lane has a successful Urgent Treatment Centre which opens from 8am to midnight.

15. How can the system better clarify when to use Rake Lane vs Cramlington?

We have been working closely North Tyneside Council to help local people understand where to go for urgent or emergency care. However, we appreciate the healthcare system can be complicated so we are always looking at better ways of doing this.

You can find more information on our website but Rake Lane urgent treatment centre includes x-ray and scanning and treats a range of conditions including:

Minor illness and injuries in adults and children
Minor head injuries
Sprains and minor fractures
Cuts and bites
Minor skin infections and wounds
Chest and throat infections
Ear and eye problems
Minor allergic reactions

The Northumbria hospital (NSECH) at Cramlington is a dedicated 24-hour emergency hospital. It is for patients with the most serious and life-threatening conditions. This includes:

Loss of consciousness
Suspected stroke
Severe chest pain
Severe blood loss

16. Can local services at North Tyneside Hospital be reinstated to reduce travel burdens?

There are no plans to reduce services at North Tyneside Hospital and the majority of medical conditions can still be treated there. Under the NHS 10 year plan we are looking at how to provide more services in local communities or people’s own homes which will reduce the need to travel to hospitals for care.

17. How can hospital services be made more consistent and reliable?

Northumbria Healthcare trust has a new patient charter. It shows the trust's commitment to patients, families and carers. What people can expect from us. The charter has been developed together with patients and staff.

Northumbria Healthcare Trust also has a lifelong care strategy. It aims to move from a traditional hospital model to a system that plans for what people will need. They plan to meet these needs so that people will have emergencies. This means more focus on prevention, understanding data and managing long term conditions. They want to offer specialist medical advice in the way that suits you best. The system should focus on the person. It should focus on what matters to you, not just ‘what’s the matter with you’. We want every patient to feel valued, heard, and respected. We want families and carers to feel well supported and involved in decisions about their health and care.

18. How can hospitals better support full-time workers to get appointments?

Northumbria Healthcare Trust offers video or phone consultations when appropriate to save travel to hospital. The hospital contact centre is available to re-arrange appointments to a suitable time to fit around your work commitments.

For some services, a Healthcare Navigator role can support patients to attend appointments. They get in contact before appointments to

identify barriers to attendance and
offer tailored support to attend.

The role helps:

improve patient access
reduce non-attendance and
strengthens communication between patients and services.

In addition, Healthcare Navigators provide invaluable feedback and data to clinical teams. They help services to improve and contributing to more equitable healthcare delivery.

19. How are A&E wait times, especially at night, being addressed?

A&E waiting times are an issue for NHS trusts across the country and while no foundation trust is currently meeting the national NHS standard of 95% of people being seen within 4 hours, Northumbria is currently 1^st in the national rankings.

There is a national drive to improve this. Locally we are doing all we can to see the growing number of more poorly A&E attendees more quickly. We have introduced new systems at the ‘front door’ of our emergency hospital in Cramlington and now have an appointment system for the urgent treatment centres which is helping to reduce the time people wait to be seen.

20. What is being done to improve communication between services after hospital discharge?

Northumbria Healthcare Trust is working to improve communication between the hospital and patients. This includes letters which share information between the hospital and the GP. We are making our letters simpler to understand, so patients know what next steps are. We are writing template letters with patients to make sure they are easy to understand.

The trust is working with Dr Doctor, a digital health company, to improve communication. They use the Patient Portal to send you text and email outpatient appointment reminders. You can view digital letters about your appointments and care. You can also book, cancel or change appointments as well as accessing your video consultation appointments via the portal.

Soon they will add new features which will allow you to:

Access healthcare information about your treatment
Ask questions
Initiate your follow-up care

The Patient Portal is available from any smartphone, tablet or computer.

21. What mental health services there are in North Tyneside?

NHS 111 Option 2 is a mental health phone line. They provide advice, support, and guidance for people experiencing a mental health crisis or needing help with mental wellbeing.
Talking Therapies – these are evidence-based psychological treatments for adults with anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, stress, and long-term condition–related emotional health concerns. You can refer yourself or your GP can refer you. Find out more about North Tyneside Talking Therapies.
NT Life Recovery College offers educational courses about mental health and recovery. The courses are designed to increase students’ knowledge and skills, to help them feel more confident in the self-management of their own health and wellbeing. Find out more about NT Life Recovery College.
Primary Care Mental Health Teams are based in GP surgeries across North Tyneside. They offer mental health advice, brief psychological interventions, and training to primary care staff.
Children and young people's mental health services- from online services like Kooth (for 11-25 year olds) to in person support for children and young people to the age of 18.
Safe Haven, The Anchorage, in Wallsend - provides out-of-hours emotional and practical support to North Tyneside residents aged 18+ who are experiencing mental health crisis or distress. It is open 2pm-10pm, 365 days a year.
Community Treatment Teams provide more intensive assessment and treatment for people facing significant mental health difficulties.
Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment Team offers 24/7 support in emergencies - an alternative to hospital admission for people in immediate crisis.

22. What steps are being taken to reduce mental health treatment waiting times, including for talking therapy?
Across the country there has been an increased demand for mental health services. This has made waiting times longer. This impacts more on some services than others. There is a national target to keep the waiting time for adult talking therapies to under 4 weeks. We manage this in North Tyneside.

We are working together to solve problems across mental health services. We are looking at issues like-

Referrals to the right services
Workforce issues (staff leaving, being sick or retiring)
Non-attendance rates

Across North Tyneside, system partners are making plans about how services can be:

Easier to access
Closer to home
Provided by a range of organisations to improve care and reduce waiting times.

Areas are coming together to deliver a suicide prevention strategy. The strategy includes lots of different services, including support

to prevent suicide
support following suicide/traumatic bereavement.

Improving access to services at an earlier stage is important. This means ensuring that people have access to services before crisis point. Alternative to crisis services like safe havens means that people can access services in their local community, closer to home and offer a non-clinical approach to mental ill health. The Anchorage in Wallsend is a good example of this, offering a range of options to access the service and is available to all areas of North Tyneside. Mental health is everyone's business, how we interact with each other and support each other is important and can also assist people in asking for help when they need it. Raising awareness of mental health and reducing stigma associated with mental ill health are important.

23. What is being done to improve mental health services across all age groups in North Tyneside?

Organisations across North Tyneside work together to:

understand mental health service pressures and
agree plans to improve services.

This work includes secondary care providers, the council, primary care, and voluntary sector organisations. Sometimes we work with the police, ambulance services and the fire service. In North Tyneside, we are funding new initiatives in 2025/26, including:

North Tyneside Safe Haven – based in Wallsend, available to all residents aged 18+
Post diagnostic support for autistic adults
Investment to improve children and young people's mental health services
Sensory support service for children and young people
Continued support of parents caring for a child or young person aged 0-25 years with special educational needs and/or disabilities
Drug monitoring service for older people

24. What support is being provided for young people with SEND, autism, and ADHD?

– Can referrals be quicker and services better tailored?

You can find out what support is on offer on the Local Offer webpage. Young people can be referred for support through the schools, through their GP and self referrals.

Diagnosis of conditions isn't always for everyone. We are using a needs led approach to get people support that's right to them and their needs. Ensuring that people are sent to the right service the first time, helps to reduce waiting times across all pathways.

The North Tyneside Parent Carer Forum offers support to parents/carers and families caring for a child or young person aged 0-25 yrs with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

System partners work together to deliver on the North Tyneside Autism Strategy. This sets out an action plan which is co-produced with autistic people. The Strategy lists improvements which need to happen and includes the importance of post diagnostic support.

Our secondary care services are working hard to reduce waiting times in the neurodevelopmental diagnostic pathways where there is significant demand.

25. Where is the current drug and alcohol rehab provision now that Oaktrees has closed?

While Oaktrees is no longer operating in North Tyneside, people in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation can use the following services:

Newcastle Treatment & Recovery (NTaR) – provides specialist assessment, medical and nursing support, recovery coordination and psychosocial interventions, for residents of Newcastle and North Tyneside. Services are run from Plummer Court, Newcastle, and from community venues. Services run 7 days a week.

PROPS (Positive Response to Overcoming Problems of Substance Misuse) - provides peer and 1:1 counselling, training, and family/carer support for people affected by substance misuse in Newcastle and North Tyneside. Available at Fe

North Tyneside Recovery Partnership (NTRP) - a service for anyone in North Tyneside, having problems with drugs and/or alcohol. The service is for people of all ages. The service runs Monday to Friday, in Wallsend

26. Can we simplify NHS App registration and digital access?

The NHS 10 year plan and the North East and North Cumbria's Digital, Data and Technology Strategy both focus on improving access to digital support. The strategy prioritises codesign of digital access with users and plans to support the work with digital literacy initiatives.