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Feedback on Capita Primary Care Support England services

Following concerns expressed about the current Capita/Primary Care Support England (PCSE) records and supplies services, the BMA recently sought feedback on practices’ experience of Capita’s service.

Dan Hodgson in the BMA Policy Directorate has provided the following update following a meeting with PCSE to discuss the issues recognised during July:

Supplies

• Some reported in July that supplies were not delivered on time – these appear to be localised issues and not nationwide.
• The main issue with supplies is the range of products now available via the portal. As part of the transfer to Capita, NHS England reviewed the supplies offered and so some are no longer available on the portal. Practices are advised to contact their CCG to find out what local provisions are in place to source and be reimbursed for such supplies.

Records

• Patient records continue to be the main issue for most practices.
• PCSE informed us that there is no backlog within their sorting office and they are currently processing approximately 90,000 records per week. The current process of collecting, sorting and delivering takes approximately three weeks.
• PCSE did inform us of backlogs being held at CitySprint depots and PCSE is working with CitySprint to ensure these are processed ASAP.
• Some practices informed us that they are refusing to hand over records. This is compounding the issue as it means the receiving practice cannot receive them – therefore we are encouraging all practices to ensure collections are permitted.

Performers List

• NPL1 (registrars registering on the performers list) – there is a three month deadline from the start of training to register on the performers list. PCSE are currently processing requests as they come in, but require all of the necessary information to complete the process (the process and requirements are outlined on the PCSE website). PCSE advise registrars to get applications in early and ensure all information is included.
• NPL3 (change of status from registrar to GP) – these are being processed as they come in and currently have a two week turnaround time. Again all of the necessary information is required in order complete the process.
• There has been some confusion over exactly what is required and what the process is. We have been assured that the process as outlined on the PCSE website is correct, and that all information must be received in order for the process to be completed. It is advisable that GPs send all information together in one envelope/email so that the application can be processed in full all at once.

New registrations

• Many reported that new registrations were not being processed in a timely manner.
• PCSE reports that there has been a build-up of new registrations which is now being sorted through. Letters to patients, and records to practices, should be sent out in the next week or so. New registrations will take four to six weeks to complete processing.
• Late processing of new registrations has not, and will not, impact on Global Sum payments. Global Sum is recalculated quarterly and is based on the number of patients registered on the first day of the quarter. This is calculated when all registrations submitted by that day have been processed.

Contacting PCSE

• There were a lot of reports of unsatisfactory interactions with the PCSE customer support centre and confusion about who to contact for what.
• PCSE is finalising a contacts list which will be sent to practices to highlight who to contact for what. This will also be provided to the customer support centre staff so that they can transfer any calls/emails appropriately.
• Staff at the customer support centre are receiving regular training to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to deal with queries appropriately, however it will take time for all staff to reach the appropriate level.
• The PSCE website holds a lot of valuable information and should be the first port of call. The FAQ section is particularly useful.

GPC advise that as the GPC evidence collection exercise is now complete, practices should continue to report issues through to PCSE directly. The GPC will continue to work with PCSE and NHS England to monitor the situation and feed into the improvement process.

Last updated : 16 Aug 2016

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