A message from Dr Anna Lock, Palliative Medicine Consultant & Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Integration & Pathways)
Delivering safe, timely and person-centred care for the people of Sandwell and West Birmingham depends on strong, trusting relationships between primary and secondary care. At a time of sustained pressure across our services, the way we work together at the interface matters more than ever, for our patients, our clinicians, and for the long-term sustainability of our local health system.
Recognising this, the Primary and Secondary Care Interface Principles have been co-produced by clinical leaders from general practice and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. This work reflects a shared commitment to collaboration, mutual respect, and collective responsibility for the care we provide, and a desire to strengthen how we support one another across organisational boundaries.
The document brings together national good practice with local insight to set out clear, practical principles that support the safe transfer of care, reduce avoidable friction between services, and help ensure patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. While aligned with national expectations from NHS England and the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme, the principles are firmly grounded in the realities of how care is delivered across Sandwell and West Birmingham.
They are intended to provide a shared understanding of roles, responsibilities, and expectations at the primary–secondary care interface, recognising the pressures faced in all parts of the system and supporting respectful, constructive ways of working together.
We would really welcome your comments on this document, as they will directly inform how the principles are implemented and refined.
You can read a draft of the document here.
Please could you then complete a short survey about the principles (no more than five minutes).
Your feedback is genuinely important to us and will help shape how we work together over time.
Please forward any additional comments to swbh.practicesupport@nhs.net
Please forward any comments you may have about this document to swbh.practicesupport@nhs.net