Chairman’s Report
November 2022

Red Kite Health Solutions has been registered as a Community Interest Company since 26th November 2015, with the first employee being employed on 01st June 2016. During 2022, Red Kite employed 14 members of staff directly in Powys, including a Business Development Manager, Administration Support and Pharmaceutical Professionals.

The company turnover during 2022 was, £868,474 with a surplus of £4,096.00.

During 2022, the organisation continued to support the South Powys Cluster by adapting and implementing service delivery, primarily focused on the ongoing issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the major difficulties faced across all health and wellbeing organisations’, Red Kite has continued its strategic ambition by aiming to improve the accessibility and quality of health care services provided for the local population. We did this by continuing to support the strategic primary care vision for Wales, building on partnership working and creating strong links and opportunities for collaborative working. Our aim is to motivate, develop, and instigate the concept that appropriate patient services are delivered by the most appropriate team/service/person; thus, improving access and quality of care for the patients of South Powys and its environs and developing opportunities for new and emerging workforce roles.

Reporting on and developing our clinical outcome measurements for the services we provide remains a priority for the organisation, ensuring that what is delivered meets the population needs. Whilst this involves a huge investment in staff time, we believe this evaluation has a vital role to play in directing and improving patient and employee care; enabling us not to be driven by activity levels and costs alone, but by having the ability to adjust service provision where required and allowing for evidence-based replication and learning. Detailed reports and services are available at www.redkiteltd.co.uk

Services

1. Unscheduled Triage – This service consists of primary care Practitioners triaging patients who request urgent appointments, and signposting appropriately to applicable services to meet their health needs. Our clinical evaluation demonstrated appropriate outcomes for this service, showing that more than 64% of patients accessing the triage service do not require on the day GP intervention and over 19% of patients require advice only. The service continues across the cluster for patients who are requesting to see a GP urgently on the day. Funding for this service was mainstreamed in 2016.

1b. Scheduled Triage – This service was conceptualised by the Haygarth Practice in 2016; expanding triage to all appointment requests, both urgent and routine. Results consistently demonstrated that 42% of patients requesting a routine appointment can be signposted to other appropriate services, other than a GP. The practice increased GP appointment times from 10 minutes to 15 minutes; thereby enabling the doctor to have additional time to support the care of those patients with comorbidity and complex conditions. They have also invested in the development of a Nurse Prescriber who undertakes independent minor illness clinics. The average waiting time for a routine appointment was reduced from 2-3 weeks to within 48 – 72 hours for most appointments. The other positive clinical outcome resulted in 7.9% of patients who requested a routine appointment being identified as requiring a more urgent appointment for their condition. This service has shown that access for patients and the quality of the care is improved by appropriate telephone first triage. The service has also proven invaluable to patients when the pandemic restrictions came into force. Patients and clinicians were comfortable with a remote service and pathways for this work were already embedded within the practice. The practice saw no change to the referral numbers for suspected urgent cancer cases in relation to pre-COVID figures, in direct contrast to national reporting figures.

Central funding for the scheduled triage ended in September 2020; however, the Haygarth practice decided to implement changes within their practice operations and continue to offer Total Nurse Triage to their population. Remaining practices continue to work with Total GP/Nurse models across the cluster.

1c. Remote Triage- Remote Triage was introduced into South Powys in October 2018. Previously supported through the scheduled triage funding, the service enabled Nurses to provide clinical telephone triage from another site within the locality, accessing the patient’s medical record remotely. This was particularly effective when the numbers of patients requiring triage were comparatively low. We believe this development has huge opportunities for changing, supporting, and sustaining primary care in rural areas and as a future model for out of hours health provision. However, it must be acknowledged that to develop this concept further, substantial additional investment and training is required to ensure its stability. Review of the remote triage service displayed a static trend in outcomes with an average of 59% triaged to appropriate services other than a GP. Funding for this service has ended, however, the evaluation of this service has shown the immense benefit of remote triage, particularly in instances where practices have issues with sustainability and/or over the winter periods.

1d. Winter Pressures Triage – In Dec 2021, the opportunity arose for the CIC to support the cluster with additional Triage sessions, after funding became available to clusters via Public Health Wales (PHW). After a successful bid, practices were asked to supply additional urgent Triage sessions across the winter period on Monday/Friday, with the aim of reducing the pressures on out of hours services (OOH). From Dec- June 2022, an additional 184 sessions were provided across the cluster, resulting in an additional 2,653 contacts. Initial reductions were seen in the numbers of patients presenting to OOH and A&E with an increase in the later months, resulting in an overall 7.64% increase in OOH contacts and 14.16% for A&E. Despite the increase, we believe this figure to be lower than national averages.

2. Pharmaceutical Support Team – During 2022, Red Kite continued to supply a full complement of pharmaceutical professionals to the South Powys Cluster, consisting of a Clinical Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technician Support. This includes a new recruitment of an IP Pharmacist to the Ystradgynlais practice.

During the pandemic, Red Kite funded IT equipment to enable the team to continue working off-site, ensuring a minimum amount of disruption to practices and patients and this has proved invaluable for cross-cover working as normal practice has resumed. The ability to work remotely for all sites resulted in only 3 days short notice absence across the year. Red Kite also facilitated the training of the Pharmacist team to provide vaccination support clinics for both influenza and COVID-19 vaccines and this included providing additional administrative support for flu marshaling and opportunistic pulse checks.

The Pharmacy team continues to provide an invaluable service to GPs, patients, secondary care, community pharmacies and nursing homes. Hospital discharges and appropriate medication queries continue to be dealt with by the pharmaceutical team rather than a GP, which was previously an enormous and time-consuming task for GPs. To date, a minimum of 177,783 discharge reports and medication query actions alone have been actioned by the team, which would previously have been dealt with by a GP. The Pharmacy professionals have also been invaluable in offering support and advice to clinicians across all sectors and pivotal in providing cross-cover and support where practices have required assistance.

2b. Professional Development  - We have two independent prescribing Pharmacists focused on improving the care of respiratory and diabetic patients. Another Pharmacist is also due to undertake an IP in 2023. We have also continued to support ongoing training for an MSc Pain technician and have funded two Pharmacy technicians for Level 4 clinical diplomas which will conclude in 2023. Our hope is to continue to invest in our team development through reinvestment of prescribing savings and other funding opportunities, creating and building new and enhanced roles for primary care teams. Additionally, in 2022, Red Kite became a training provider for Foundation pharmacists in partnership with HEIW. Our first primary care trainee rotation took place in July 2022, and we have a further two scheduled for 2022/2023.

2c. Additional Workload - The last three years have seen an increase in the support the team has been able to provide to the patients; including Pharmacy run clinics for:

•	Anticoagulation
•	Respiratory
•	Medication reviews
•	Patient queries
•	Diabetes
•	Heart Failure
•	HRT
•	Flu Vaccination
•	COVID-19 Vaccination

Despite the difficulties of the past few years, the team continues to make prescribing savings by supporting and introducing clinically effective and efficient prescribing across the practices in South Powys. The CIC has had approval to reinvest a proportion of the savings into further developing the workforce and their activities; however, to date the organisation has not accessed this funding.

Total prescribing savings made by the team to November 2022 are £1,476,736

2d. Mid-Powys Pharmacy Support - In 2021, the mid-cluster practices approached Red Kite to request pharmaceutical support upon the loss of their service and until an alternative service solution could be found. Keen to support our environs, we were able to supply some additional remote capacity from within our current team for a 6-month period, to enable them to explore options with the health board. This had a huge impact on our administration in terms of implementation, including IT, support and arrangement of cross-cover working in unknown practices, as well as additional work for the Pharmacy employees. The service focused on additional discharge summary reconciliation and medication queries and the addition of a pharmacist for 1 day per week delivering respiratory and diabetic review clinics. These services were both delivered and received extremely positively by the South and Mid practices from January-June 2022.

3. Mental Health Support - Red Kite was successful in securing additional funding for the cluster area in 2021/2022 to implement and introduce a first contact practitioner service for patients presenting to their GP with low level mental wellbeing issues. The aim was to improve access to support, avoiding duplicate contacts and reducing clinician time. The service consisted of the implementation of a, protocol led, care coordination service from practice staff and the availability of Brecon and District MIND and Ystradgynlais MIND to provide mental wellbeing assessments to referred patients within 24 hours without the need to see a GP. This was implemented by building a pathway between community and general practice for the management of these patients. On the success of the initial period Jan-Mar 2022, the service has been extended to June 2023.

From the 24th January 2022 – 30th November 2022, 362 patients were referred to the service with the following outcomes recorded.

Total No. patients referred for a MH needs assessment	362	
No. of patients uncontactable/ inappropriate	7	
Total No. of patients re-contacting GP after assessment	17	
Total No. of patients completing a needs assessment	355	

Of the total patients, 355 have completed a MH needs assessment and were linked to a different community service and/or given information and advice to support their needs. 17 patients who have completed an assessment have returned to the GP for further support/medication/med3/worsening symptoms.

•	32% of patients were linked into Non-Clinical Psychological Interventions and a further 25% to, Community Based Wellbeing Activities.
•	29.8% of patients have received information and advice on management with average contact of 4 sessions.
•	On average the introduction of the service has resulted in a reduction of the number of contacts a patient has to make from up to 3 times to 1 contact when referred directly from care coordination.
•	If each patient signposted directly from care coordination (299) had an additional 2 contacts, this has potentially saved 598 additional contacts for the patients to receive the appropriate referral and/or care pathway.
•	This reduction in the number of contacts equates to 14.95 (299pts) Triage/GP sessions saved if the patient is referred directly to MIND via care coordinators (based on 20 patients per session).

This early intervention pilot has resulted in direct contact from the MH link worker within 2-24 hours of a patient contacting their practice, resulting in subsequent direct referrals to community-based services and support. This has shown an improvement in the pathway for patients by reducing the number of contacts made by patients, improving their access to timely and appropriate care, and increasing the capacity of Triage in practices for medical issues.

This service has gained interest from other areas in Wales and led to a positive presentation in North Powys, including Care Coordination Training provided by Red Kite to practice staff.

3b. The Fathom Trust Partnership - In 2022, Red Kite embarked on discussion with a local charity, The Fathom Trust. The Fathom Trust is run by a community of artisans and healthcare practitioners working together to promote physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, who had successfully delivered a green programme for patients within the community.  Seeing the benefits in forging local links with health care and opportunities for the local patient population, we worked with our Pharmacy team and the practices to offer patients the opportunity to embark on a 6-week, making well programme in the local community. Individuals can embrace green handcrafts, led by local artisans and crafters aimed at improving the wellbeing of people living with mental health difficulties.

In addition, we were able to donate towards the continuation of the Fathom Trust crafters café, which is a fundamental part of bringing together groups with shared interests. We are also planning to support a joint programme during 2023, closer to home for patients based in Ystradgynlais in conjunction with some of our practice-based services, such as pain management and mental health.

3c. Staff Wellbeing – An Apple A Day CIC – The impact on healthcare workers over the last few years has been immense and this has been coupled with increases in frustrations from the public as services try to recover from the pandemic. It was important that in our mental health focus, we considered the staff working on the frontline of these services. In collaboration with An Apple A Day  CIC, we were able to offer a series of wellbeing sessions for Red Kite and practice staff. This consisted of the offer for practices of up to 3 online or face-to-face group sessions focused on mental wellbeing and managing stress and anxiety. Our aim is to continue and expand our offer during 2023.

4. COVID Impact Service- In October 2020, Red Kite secured funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to further support patients most at risk from the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19. The aim of the project was to provide a telephone support service over a 12-month+ period for patients effected by the impact of COVID-19 at a local level by identifying shielding/vulnerable patients through the practice clinical systems, who may not have accessed services during the pandemic; or who may be reluctant to re-enter society. Patients were contacted via the telephone and given advice relating to service provision that is available; the opportunity to discuss the safety measures in the practices; advice for the booking of health appointments; including signposting to cancer screening, voluntary and community services and health promotion, particularly in relation to mental health needs and the impact of isolation. The service was extended to June 2022 with 1,689 (71%) of the identified, appropriate patients for contact were successfully contacted. The following outcomes were recorded.

96 patients were given advice
	
10 patients were referred to MIND
	
2 patients signposted to other Mental Health charities
	
132 patients were signposted to GP practice/ health services
	
8 patients were signposted to Community Pharmacy
	
2 patients were signposted to Community Transport
	
6 patients were signposted to Secondary Care Admin
	
8 patients were signposted to Community District Nurses
	
26 patients were referred to other voluntary services
	
7 patients signposted to other helplines (CAB etc.)
	
1,362 Patients managing at home- Welfare check completed

5. Pain Management  – Chronic pain affects between one-third and one-half of the population of the UK. According to a study published in the European Journal of Pain in 2006 led by Brevic, consultations for pain account for 20% of all primary care attendances, and that percentage is increasing with an ageing population. This is at a time when the Covid 19 epidemic has driven demand for GP and therapy appointments to an all-time high, resulting in increased waiting list times and delays in accessing services. In 2017, the death rate per 100,000 in Wales was more than double that of London. Only the north-east of England had a worse rate .Prescription levels of powerful painkillers rose by 30% during the period 2007 to 2017.

In 2020, we were pleased to announce to the South Powys Cluster that one of our Pharmacy Technicians had completed an MSc in pain management. Our aim was to provide a ‘Primary Care Pain Management Service’ across South Powys; focused on patients who are/or at risk from opioid/gabapentinoid reliance in response to the highlighted issues in Wales. Coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic delays, increasing demands on GP time and difficulty in managing these patients in the past, it was imperative that focus was placed upon early intervention and management of patients displaying opioid/ gabapentinoid or potential opioid/gabapentinoid misuse.

The scoping service commenced in November 2020 and provided an MSc Pain Management Practitioner placed in primary care under the clinical supervision of a GP, to build confidence for the practitioner and to scope patients who are/ or are at risk of opioid and gabapentinoid reliance, streamlining care in partnership with clinicians. Introducing patients to holistic assessments and ongoing support and advice to manage pain, to November 2022, 529 contacts have been made in relation to pain management with the following outcomes recorded.

Medication stopped	85	
Medication changed	20	
Medication decreased	64	
Medication increased	22	
Refer to GP	20	
Advice & support -self management plan	182	
Refer to Pain Management	8	
Patient discharged with advice	74	
Current ongoing management plan	108	

The pain management practitioner also conducted a tailored review of patients on tramadol at the request of Powys Teaching Health Board. Results from CASPA data have outlined the following results from this intervention Dec-June 2022 for the number of items issued, showing a reduction in the practices this intervention was carried out and a reduction in prescribing costs. (Active practices Davies C and LI ML)

Funding for this service has been extended to March 2023 with the opportunity to run a fully functioning service and we aim to apply to the Bevan Commission as an exemplar project across Wales.

5a.  An Apple A Day Obesity Pilot - With obesity rates rising in Wales, 57% of the population are now classed as being overweight and living an unhealthy lifestyle. This can lead to many health issues including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and poor mental health and patients often require ongoing support to make healthier lifestyle choices. In addition, the risks from the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to obesity and our research showing a 30% prevalence across the cluster highlighted the requirement for support in this area.

As a result, Red Kite and a Powys based CIC, An Apple A Day worked collaboratively  to design, develop, and deliver a 6-week Lifestyle and Wellbeing Community Programme where a small, pilot group of individuals could access support and help, acquire new self-management techniques to support behaviour change and skills to manage their health and wellbeing and improve quality of life. An initial pilot of the service carried out in South Powys, demonstrated promising results from a tailored and holistic support programme as outlined below.

	Weight	Strategies to support your wellbeing	Manage your diet & weight	Confidence	Self Esteem	Quality of Life	
	PRE	POST	PRE	POST	PRE	POST	PRE	POST	PRE	POST	PRE	POST	
1	139.6	131.6	3	6	3	7	5	7	7	7	5	6	
2	119	115.8	8	10	7	8	10	10	9	10	9	10	
3	103	99.7	9	10	9	10	8	7	8	8-9	10	10	
4	90.5	90.5	10	10	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	

We hope to be able to provide subsequent programmes to support the cluster the All-Wales Diabetes Programme during 23/24.

6. Strategic Programme for Primary Care (SPPC) -Accelerated Cluster Development (ACD) – In 2021, Welsh Government began the implementation of the ACD programme as the primary care component of Place Based Care, to be delivered through professional collaboratives and clusters. Collaboratives groups include General medical, dental, Optometry, Pharmacy, Nurses, Allied Health Professionals and Social Care Professionals to assess their population needs and service solutions. Solutions are developed within the collaboratives and through multi-disciplinary cluster working.

As part of the programme, the option for clusters to create organisations for service delivery , such as CICs, was included in the toolkit for clusters, with our Business Manager invited to sit on the advisory board. SPPC took forward the creation of an All-Wales Alternative Provider of Medical Services contract and Red Kite provided input and detailed overview and instruction about the formulation of a CIC for Clusters who may wish to take forward the model. Details of this work can be found on the ACD toolkit at  Accelerated Cluster Development Toolkit - Primary Care One (nhs.wales)

Our involvement in this area has led to many requests from other clusters across Wales, whom we continue to support.

7. Cluster Website - Red Kite has continued to support the FootFall cluster website on behalf of the GP collaborative in South Powys. An enormous amount of work has been put in to shaping this interactive website for the benefit of patients by the practices, which has helped to improve access. Patients can ask questions, request results, complete online questionnaires and access a range of clinical services through the interface, which will provide invaluable support to service provision in the post-COVID era. We have also linked in with other health care providers and Third Sector organisations to share information and ensure that the most current information for patients is available. Our aim will be to continue to expand upon the use of this technology for the sharing of information, health reviews and patient education, improving the way in which the population can access health and wellbeing services and advice.

9. Atrial Fibrillation Project - During the annual Influenza Vaccination Programme, the cluster practices are supported to carry out opportunistic pulse checks on patients attending the surgery for their flu injections. This opportunistic check looks to identify patients with an irregular pulse, which can be indicative of a diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation. This condition significantly increases the risk of a stroke but can be managed on the correct treatment. Red Kite also supports with administration and car park attendance.

From 2016, 43, 672 patients have had an opportunistic pulse check, resulting in 52 new diagnoses of Atrial Fibrillation through diagnostic (ECG) testing. All patients are diagnosed and on appropriate treatment, significantly reducing the risk of stroke.

10. Cluster Support - During 2022, Red Kite has also supported the GP collaborative with several additional cluster projects run within the practices in terms of implementation support,  IT, budget management and evaluation reports. These projects have included:

•	Covid Renewal Phlebotomy clinics
•	Covid Renewal Diabetes Clinics
•	Implementation of the All-Wales Diabetes Programme
•	Pathways and staff training
•	Searches, templates, and health data
•	Audits 
•	Veterans support

11. Organisational Development – The CIC has increased its activity and turnover during 2022, however, many of the activities have been on short-term funding arrangements. The introduction of the ACD programme was a positive addition for the CIC. As the only organisation of its type and the only holder of an APMS contract, it has at times been difficult to find our space in the sector as a standalone organisation. Although we have increased our turnover for 2022 and welcome the formalisation of ACD, it has, and will inevitably require time to transition and become fully embedded in Powys. Our hope is that further opportunities will come from within the Cluster for service delivery through the CIC as we move into a new year, and as appropriate. Due to the instability during the transition, In September 2022, Red Kite lost 18 hours of administrative support and made the decision not to replace this time until ACD became fully embedded in Powys. Although this has impacted the work of the management team, we have still been able to focus on additional work within the community.

The CIC has continued to support Powys with cluster administration, including development of reports and data collection, managing budgets and processing of information. We have built a good relationship with members of the new primary care team department in Powys, including the Cluster Development Manager at PtHb and associated staff, so that we may support the collaboratives with the transition to ACD if required.

In addition, the CIC was also able to utilise surplus reserves for further patient care and was delighted to offer the practices additional funding for 2022/23. Practices have utilised this funding for equipment, including CRP testing machines, BP monitors and ECG machines, along with a dedicated fund of 0.31p per patient supplied to support ongoing COVID renewal projects.

12. Future Considerations/ Opportunities/ Priorities

12a.COVID-19 Renewal – General practice continues with a vast and difficult task ahead in dealing with the catch-up and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing demand for services. Red Kite will continue to support the South Cluster Collaboratives and patients of South Powys where necessary; particularly prioritising and offering support and assistance within the following areas during 2023:

•	Frailty and age care
•	Emergency Care
•	Chronic disease management
•	All-Wales Diabetes Prevention Programme
•	Antimicrobial Resistance initiatives
•	Referral and workflow management
•	Mental Health and well-being Initiatives
•	IT and remote working solutions
•	Winter pressures
•	Increasing access
•	Care coordination
•	Increased Pain Management Services
•	Staff development
•	Collaborative partnerships
•	Patient Education

12b. Primary Care Model for Wales – We will continue to proactively invest and support a larger multi-skilled team to provide support across the locality. We are conscious that from a sustainability and moral stance, we need to continue to increase investment of our time and resources in identifying opportunities of cost efficiencies and effectiveness; encourage joint working and provide extra support to patients, practices, and colleagues. We will look to work closely with partner organisations, social care and third sector agencies to support and widen the compassionate community approach to health care services. This includes expanding on current provision with Social Services, PAVO and the Community Connectors, MIND, and other agencies.

12c. Investing in the workforce for the primary care clinicians of the future by-
•	Offering portfolio careers to appropriate clinicians.
•	Expanding and providing training and mentorship opportunities to GP Registrars, Medical students, Nurses, Physician Associates, Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.
•	Providing “in-house tasters” for current administration staff who may wish to train as a future Healthcare Assistants or Phlebotomists where possible.
•	Continuing to expand the implementation of IT support across the cluster to make best use of the technologies available within primary care.
•	Engage and develop training and mentorship opportunities for health board and primary care employees across all disciplines.
•	Continuing to develop new and emerging roles and service delivery opportunities for clinical and non-clinical personnel.

12d.Public Relations – We continue to be invited to clusters across Wales to discuss our organisation and offer support regarding service delivery and experiences. This has included presenting to clusters in North Powys, Monmouth, and Cardiff, who have incorporated CICs with further meetings booked across Wales during 2023 and presenting more widely at the ACD event programme.

We also continue to be involved with many high-profile events where the health minister and chief executives from other health boards have been in attendance. In 2022, we met with the Health Minister, Eluned Morgan and local Councillors to report upon our work and share good learning. In addition, as well as taking part in the ACD advisory board, our Business Manager sits on the strategic Advisory Board for Yma, a Community Interest Company in service to primary care and founder of the All-Wales Cluster Leads Group. We continue to receive extremely positive feedback, shared learning, and useful contacts from these events.

The last year has also seen an increase in communication and an emergence of other health and well-being related social enterprises, with whom we have had several useful contact and collaboration opportunities. We will continue to build upon these relationships going forward to strengthen service provision and partnership working between providers.

It is evident that there remains great interest from many cluster groups throughout Wales to set up similar formal alliances. Due to the recognition of our work in health care, we continue to receive numerous requests to provide advice and support to others in setting up Community Interest Companies and will continue to offer support to clusters on a more formalised basis.

14. Our vision - Our vision is that social enterprises, such as Red Kite will have a pivotal role in supporting health and wellbeing provision for patients for the future. Our aim is to continue to provide this support to ensure patients can continue to access quality care, as safely and timely as possible. In addition:

•	Red Kite will continue its role as a provider of primary and community care services for the south Powys locality and its environs.
•	It will aim to continue to build upon and provide health care solutions for gaps in care provision identified by the primary care cluster and GP network.
•	It will continue to develop the pharmacy support team to provide cover for sickness and maternity by investing drug savings and through integration with the LHB medicines management team.
•	It will support the continuation of a telephone-first triage-based model in primary care.
•	Continue to support and assist the patients and providers with alternative and effective, safe solutions to accessing health care remotely where appropriate.
•	Continue to coordinate the sharing of good practice across providers and streamline back-office functions to minimise duplication.
•	Look to expand and coordinate the use of the FootFall website to further support patients.
•	Continue to support and build integration and increase partnership-working with both social care, non-profit and third sector agencies.
•	Endeavor to provide support and education to patients at risk of developing long term health conditions, to support them to make appropriate lifestyle changes.
•	Strive to improve the access and quality of care for patients.
•	Continue to build a motivated staff culture, where members of the team enjoy and develop within their roles.
•	Continue to train, motivate and develop staff and roles for the future of primary care

Red Kite continues with an innovative agenda for the future, with plans to continue to mirror and support the vision of a Primary Care Model for Wales and improve the health and wellbeing of the population. We will do this by continuing to support general practice, wider colleagues, partners, and patients to access the care that need in the right place, first time. It is our aim that our work will continue to support and provide stability to providers for the future; therefore, supporting improvements in the quality, delivery and access of effective health and well-being services for patients.

Red Kite’s strategic ambition is to continue to promote sustainability by developing a team of primary care professionals who will become a local support unit. These units will enable us to offer help to practices who are finding they have gaps in provision due to unforeseen circumstances, require a change in delivery due to the pandemic or because of difficulties in recruiting appropriate staff.

The experience gained both administratively and clinically in how to implement the Primary Care Model has been invaluable in shaping the response efforts in relation to the pandemic; and has further highlighted the strong and collaborative relationship that has been built between our organisation, primary care, and the wider sector. This knowledge and collaborative approach will continue to produce dividends to patients, employees, and rural practice in the future. We continue to acknowledge the hard and often difficult work that the Red Kite team invests to achieve these goals – none of which would be possible without the continuing support of the GP partners and staff of the South Powys practices and our partner providers across all sectors which should continue to be formally recognised.

Despite the difficulties ahead in the current economic climate and COVID recovery, Red Kite remains enthused and encouraged by what it has been able to achieve to support the South Powys population and primary care contractors. We will continue to focus on the potentials and opportunities for the implementation of a sustainable model of primary care across the South Powys locality and beyond for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Anthony Morgan
30th November 2022

NB. Further information regarding our services and company information is available at: www.redkiteltd.co.uk

‘A relatively simple business model has been a game-changer in the provision of efficient and effective health services in South Powys, cutting waiting times, getting people to the practitioner they really need, saving GP time, identifying urgent cases and incidentally saving the NHS millions,” Powys Business Award Judge, 2021

“The enthusiasm and commitment of the team was amazing and probably a key reason for its success. It is a replicable model which could be implemented across the UK with high impact for all of us.” Powys Business Award Judge, 2021