More than 31,000 additional staff have been recruited into healthcare roles at general practices across the country since 2019.
Presently, the new GP Access Recovery Plan is expanding patient support by increasing the availability of healthcare professionals to ensure timely and accessible care.
As demand for GP support continues to rise, especially with an aging population, the NHS is training additional staff to improve patient assessments and ensure they are referred to the appropriate healthcare professionals.
1 in 5 GP appointments are for non-medical reasons, such as loneliness, housing advice, or debt concerns. The NHS is actively promoting the support of community health teams, including pharmacists, mental health practitioners, paramedics, physiotherapists, and social prescribing link workers, to address these needs.
A recent survey found that 36% of people in England are unaware of the various options offered at their GP practice, highlighting low public awareness of available support.
Tens of thousands of people now benefit from expanded social prescribing teams for non-medical issues. This low-cost intervention empowers individuals in managing their health and eases the workload on family doctors’ time, allowing them more time for patients who require their medical care and treatment.
Having more health professionals means patients receive the best possible care. The primary care plan provides convenient options for people to self-refer for services like physiotherapy, podiatry, and hearing tests without seeing a GP.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien said, “For most of us, general practice is our front door to the NHS and this is why we’re expanding the support on offer to patients”.
“GPs delivered about 15% more appointments over the last year compared to pre-pandemic, and that’s the result not just of more staff, but the hard work of teams in general practice”.
Source: NHS
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