A new healthcare team available to help you
A range of healthcare professionals work at your surgery and in the wider community to help you get the right care when you need it.
Services in general practice and the community are being transformed to make it easier for you to access a wider range of help from your surgery, closer to home, by phone or online. This is part of the NHS long term plan to offer people further choice and more joined-up healthcare
More healthcare professionals including Clinical Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Paramedics, Physician Associates, Mental Health Therapists and Social Prescribing Link Workers are being recruited nationally to work alongside GPs in wider networks of practices. Your practice reception team will help guide you to the most appropriate care as soon as possible when booking you an appointment.
This page will tell you more about how these new and existing roles will help you get the right care when you need it. Talk to your reception team to find out what’s available in your area
Care Navigators/ Reception Team
Care Navigators working in practice reception teams are specially trained to know about the care and services available to you at your surgery and in your area. While the name of this role may differ in your practice, they’ll listen and talk to you in confidence about your health problem, to understand your needs so they can book you an appointment with the right healthcare professional or service.
They can help you:
- Get seen as soon as possible
- Know whether self-referral is available for certain services at your practice or in your area
- Make appointments for new kinds of care or new services you may not be aware of
- Access the appropriate healthcare professional
Clinical Pharmacists
Clinical Pharmacists are experts in medicines and can help people stay as well as possible. They support those with long-term conditions like asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure or anyone taking multiple medicines to make sure their medication is working. They work with GPs, local pharmacies and hospitals to ensure that medicine services are joined up.
Many Clinical Pharmacists can also prescribe medicines.
They can help with:
- In-depth reviews of your medicines if you have a long-term condition
- Agreeing and making changes to your prescription
- Advice about medicines and side effects
Physiotherapists
Physiotherapists in general practice are experts in musculoskeletal conditions. They are able to assess, diagnose and treat a range of complex muscle and joint conditions preventing the need for referrals to hospital. They can arrange swift access to further treatment, investigations and specialists when needed.
They can help with:
- Diagnosing and treating muscular and joint conditions
- Advising on how to manage your condition
- Referrals on to specialist services
Paramedics
Paramedics work in a variety of roles within a general practice. Their background in pre-hospital care means that they are used to working with people with a variety of health conditions from coughs and minor injuries to more serious conditions such as asthma and heart attacks. They work alongside GPs and help manage routine or urgent appointments, telephone triage (assessment of urgency of illness or injury) and home visits.
They can help with:
- Diagnosing and treating health conditions
- Ordering tests and interpreting results
- Supporting people with long- term conditions such as arthritis and diabetes
Physician Associates
Physician Associates are trained and qualified to diagnose and treat a wide range of health conditions. They work alongside GPs to provide care to people, particularly those with long-term conditions who often benefit from being able to see the same healthcare professional.
They can help with:
- Diagnosing and treating health conditions
- Arranging tests and analysing results
- Performing physical examinations
Mental Health Therapists and Practitioners
Mental health professionals in general practice may also be known as Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, High Intensity Therapists or Cognitive Behavioural Therapists and work as part of ’Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) services.
They specialise in mental health and use a range of talking therapies to help people with common mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Sessions are usually one-on-one but can also be in couple or group settings, by phone or online. Referral can be via your GP or directly via a local psychological therapies (IAPT) service.
They can help with:
- Talking therapies
- Tools and techniques to manage symptoms
- Support for those experiencing the psychological effects of managing long-term conditions, such as diabetes
Social Prescribing Link Workers
Social prescribing involves helping people to improve their health and wellbeing by connecting them to activities in the community. Link Workers connect those feeling lonely, overwhelmed or in need of help to a range of local support, from community and activity groups to work, debt or housing advice.
They can help with:
- Getting people to focus on their own priorities and the things that affect their wellbeing
- Supporting people to take more control of their health
- Introducing people to groups and activities in their community
Healthcare Assistants
Healthcare Assistants work under the guidance of a nurse or another healthcare professional. They help with routine health checks and provide patients with general health and wellbeing advice.
They can help with:
- Health checks, such as blood pressure monitoring or taking blood samples
- Vaccinations and injections
- Healthy living advice, e.g. stopping smoking and weight loss
- Dressings and stitch removal
General Practice Nurses
Nurses in general practice undertake a wide range of roles and are involved in almost every aspect of a patient’s care, assessing, screening and treating people of all ages. In addition to providing traditional aspects of nursing care such as wound care, immunisations and administration of medicines, they run health checks and clinics for those with long-term conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes.
They can help with:
- Vaccinations and injections
- Supporting people with long-term conditions such as asthma and diabetes
- Healthy living advice e.g. stopping smoking and weight loss
- Family planning and sexual health advice, including smear tests
Advanced Clinical Practitioners
Advanced Clinical Practitioners come from a range of clinical backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy and paramedics. They are highly trained and have the knowledge and skills to manage all aspects of patient care.
They can help with:
- Diagnosing and treating health conditions
- Ordering tests and interpreting results
- Prescribing medication
General Practitioners
GPs oversee all aspects of patient care. They meet regularly with other members of the practice team to plan joint approaches to coordinate a patient’s care. All other members of the practice team work under the supervision of a GP.
They can help with:
- Diagnosing and treating a health condition
- Ordering tests and interpreting results
- Prescribing medication where necessary
- Referring you to hospital and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment
We’re here to help you get the right care, as quickly and as conveniently as possible.
Appointments in the evenings and at weekends are available at your surgery or locally, and you can also access a range of practice services online, or via the NHS App on your smartphone.
Talk to your reception team to find out more.