The support on offer for patients at their GP practice is expanding, thanks to thousands more healthcare staff working in local communities and the new GP access recovery plan.
More than 31,000 additional staff have been recruited into healthcare roles at general practices across the country since 2019 - meaning an expanded team of health professionals are now available to help patients get the right care when they need it, in addition to seeing their GP or practice nurse.
As of Friday (20 October 2023), the NHS is raising awareness of the support available with community health teams, including pharmacists, mental health practitioners, paramedics, physios, and social prescribers now available in every part of the country.
Record numbers of people are seeking support from their family doctors but with one in five GP appointments for non-medical reasons such as loneliness or seeking advice on housing or debts, the NHS wants to make sure that the right help is available.
A patient can always see their GP, but the NHS is training more than 7,500 staff to better assess patients' needs when they first contact their practice so they can be seen by the right health professional. For example, if a patient has muscular pain, they will be booked straight into see a physiotherapist.
Dr Amanda Doyle OBE, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, at NHS England recently said:
“Record numbers of people are seeking support from their GP practice, with teams treating half a million more patients a week compared to before the pandemic, and this demand is only going to increase with an ageing population so the NHS must adapt its services to match this need.
“While people will always be able to see their family doctor when they need to, the NHS is giving people more options with more than 31,000 new staff working in General Practice since 2019 meaning patients can get specialist support from mental health professionals, physios, and pharmacists without needing to see a GP first.
“The health service is also making it as easy as possible for people to contact their GP with 32 million people accessing the NHS app to book appointments or receive test results, so if you need support please come forward for care.”
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