3i Collaboration: Promoting Community Health through Primary Care (ProComm)
In May, the EFPC collaborated with the Universities of Kent, Ghent, and Lille to hold the ‘3i Collaboration: Promoting Community Health through Primary Care (ProComm)’ event. The event was three days and took place in Canterbury (on the campus of the University of Kent).
Within those three days, we explored themes of common interest in Community Orientated Primary Care that can lead to new cooperation in research, education, or practice. The discussions during the meetings were about the integration of primary care and public health, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, community primary care, health equity, equality, and inclusion.
Regarding community-oriented primary care, we were introduced to Whitstable Medical Practice, an innovative practice of the NHS that integrated community healthcare in Whitstable. Dr John Ribchester (GP Director of Strategy, Whitstable Medical Practice) and Dr David Gould (Managing Partner, Whitstable Medical Practice) gave presentations about Whitstable Medical Practice regarding the benefits and barriers of the medical practice and the need of the community. The next day we visited the medical practice, and both doctors gave us a tour of the practice. After the tour, we were in a meeting room where we had a Q&A about the experiences of the doctors, patient satisfaction, and success factors of the practice.
Whitstable Medical Practice left an impression on all of us, and it encouraged all of us to move the discussions forward. We spent the following meetings discussing how we can improve community care in our own country, the education of healthcare professionals, and the professional well-being of practitioners.
We were able to make an overview in the last meeting on points we all found critical to address in community-oriented primary care. The 3i Collaboration event left an impression on all of us. We will continue to cooperate on future projects and push forward the benefits of community-oriented primary care to all healthcare practitioners.
