Providing help and support with following:

• Housing needs: housing not suitable, aids/adaptations needed, want to move house, risk of homelessness
• Financial needs: benefits and welfare, debt, blue badges/bus/pass
• Low level mental wellbeing support needs: bereavement, low mood, anxiety/worry, relationship breakdown, family issues
• Social isolation, networks and relationships: loneliness and feeling disconnected
• Volunteering/employment support and opportunities
• Learning disabilities or those who are carers

They also deliver the following sessions:

• Cost of living drop-ins at every practice
• Quali-tea time sessions for parents and carers of children under 12 months
• The Community Garden Project (at Skelmanthorpe Family Doctors)

Social prescriber – working alongside GPs to meet patients’ healthcare needs. – YouTube

Helps with people who:

• Are living with multiple long-term conditions and/or complex needs
• Live with frailty and/or are housebound
• Want to avoid further admission to hospital
• Haven’t had a personalised care plan reviewed in the last 12 months
• Are due to undergo surgery, support with appointments prior and the ensuring a plan is in place for when they arrive home.
• Have carers – providing a whole family approach and linking in the carer to support services.

Can also help to connect people for support with:

• Possible grant or welfare entitlement check
• Mobility equipment and aids to support around reducing falls/risk of admissions.
• Housing adaptations
• Physio referrals
• Connecting to social support
• Connecting to palliative care support
• Facilitating with Multi-Disciplinary discussions with other healthcare professionals to ensure all needs are being met.

Care coordinator – working alongside GPs to meet patients’ healthcare needs. – YouTube

Helps people who:

• Have a longstanding recognised mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.
• Have been discharged from Secondary Care teams back to Primary Care for who a social prescribing approach would be beneficial.
• Have been newly diagnosed with a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.
• Are on the SMI register.

They can help with the above people with all the same things a Social Prescribing Link Worker can help with and will also help to connect people to specialist services and facilitate conversations with other agencies and professionals where needed.

Can help people with:

• Self-management of long-term physical health conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia.
• Taking steps to prevent a deterioration in physical health and engage in healthier habits such as patients who are pre-diabetic and those who are looking to reduce their alcohol intake.
• Low level mental wellbeing where there is an impact on physical health and motivation (ie anxiety, stress and depression).
• Support and advice around nutrition, including a reduction in BMI
• Improving day -to-day routine and structure
• Stopping smoking advise
• Increasing physical activity levels, including for housebound patients

They also deliver structured group education sessions.

Health and wellbeing coach – working alongside GPs to meet patients’ healthcare needs.

Clinical pharmacist, working alongside GPs to meet patients’ needs. – YouTube

We have 4 Clinical Pharmacists working across our PCN. Clinical pharmacists work as part of the general practice team to improve value and outcomes from medicines and consult with and treat patients directly.

This includes providing extra help to manage long-term conditions, advice for those on multiple medicines and better access to health checks.

The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and ensuring patient safety.

What can clinical pharmacists help with?

• prescribing
• medication reviews
• queries about medications
• telephone reviews
• treatment of minor illnesses
• managing a patient’s condition holistically
• ensuring patients get the most out of their medication
• ensuring there is joined-up care for patients
• How are GP practices benefiting?

Clinical pharmacists can prescribe certain medication and conduct medication reviews. They can answer questions about medication and support patients over the course of their treatment.

Having clinical pharmacists in GP practices means that GPs can focus their skills where they are most needed, for example on diagnosing and treating patients with more complex conditions. This helps GPs to manage the demands on their time.

Examples of how clinical pharmacists can help patients:

Long-term conditions

• Long-term conditions include things like asthma, type 2 diabetes, arthritis or high blood pressure.
• If a patient has a long-term condition, the clinical pharmacist can offer expert advice on their medications. For example, making sure they are on the most appropriate medication and that it is working for the patient and they are getting the most out of their medications.
• They may also help by offering advice on how a patient can make lifestyle change to help manage their condition and to help them stay well.

Dealing with side effects

• If medication is making a patient feel unwell, the clinical pharmacist can help by changing the medication or changing the dosage they are taking. If the patient is on multiple medications, the clinical pharmacist can help to make sure they are all working well together.

Medication reviews

• If a patient Is taking medication for a long time, they will need to have a medicine review at least once a year. This is to ensure the medication is still working properly. The clinical pharmacist can check all the patients’ medication and talk to them about how their medication is working for them. They can also perform health checks such as taking the patients’ blood pressure or making appointments for them to have other tests, like blood tests.
• If a patient had recently been to hospital, their medication may have changed while they were there. The clinical pharmacist can help to explain any changes to the medication and to make sure they are working well for the patient.

Pharmacy technicians play an important role, complementing clinical pharmacists, community pharmacists and other health care colleagues. The purpose of the role is to lead improvements to maximise safe, cost effective best practice in prescribing to improve the quality of patient care.

What can pharmacy technicians offer?

Pharmacy technicians work directly with patients to provide information relating to:

• repeat prescription management
• medication reviews
• side effects
• dosages
• assist with medication queries
• health promotion
• counselling patients to support them in using their medicines effectively
• counselling patients on new or high-risk medication

If a pharmacy technician observes an issue or requires assistance, they typically elevates the concern to the clinical pharmacist for further investigation or advice.

Pharmacy technician – working alongside GPs to meet patients’ healthcare needs

Physiotherapists in general practice

Musculoskeletal (MSK) health issues such as back, muscle and joint pains are the most common cause of repeat GP appointments and account for around 1 in 5 of all GP appointments. Most of these issues can be dealt with effectively by a physiotherapist without any need to see a GP.

Research shows physiotherapists are the most expert professional group regarding musculoskeletal issues with the exception of orthopaedic consultants.

They have the same high safety record as GPs and some are trained to administer steroid injections, order diagnostic tests including scans, and also prescribe medication.

What can physiotherapists help with?

• Diagnosing and treating muscular and joint conditions
• Advising on how to manage your condition
• Referrals on to specialist services
• How are GPs benefitting?

Physiotherapists help GPs to manage their workload more effectively through re-allocating appointments for patients with musculoskeletal problems and reducing the number of referrals into secondary care.

This includes reduced demand on waiting times for orthopaedics, pain services, rheumatology, community physiotherapy and Clinical Musculoskeletal Assessment and Treatment services.

What are the benefits for patients?

• Quicker access to expert MSK assessment, diagnosis, treatment and advice
• Help to prevent short-term problems becoming long-term conditions
• Improve the patient experience
• A shorter pathway means patients have fewer appointments to attend
• Simpler logistics means patients are less likely to miss appointments, or to suffer administrative errors
• Patients can gain lifestyle and physical activity advice from experts
• Longer appointment times so patients feel listened to, cared for and reassured

How can patients book to see or access advice from a physiotherapist?

Patients with back and joint pain, including conditions such as arthritis can see a physiotherapist by speaking to the GP practice reception team, or by being referred by their GP.

Advanced nurse practitioners are registered nurses who have completed extra training and academic qualification to be able to clinically assess, diagnose, refer and treat patients who present with undiagnosed or undifferentiated problems.

Advanced nurse practitioners are highly-trained health professionals that can undertake complex reviews of patients, similar to GPs. They can assess symptoms and build a picture of a patient’s condition, treat minor health problems, infections, minor injuries and prescribe medication where necessary. They can also often manage more complicated problems, for instance, patients presenting with long-term health conditions, such as diabetes and COPD. 

What can advanced nurse practitioners help with?

• complex patient reviews/assessments
• diagnosing acute and chronic conditions
• treatment of minor illnesses
• prescribing and reviewing medication
• advising on prescribed medication
• evaluating treatment plans
• managing conditions holistically
• ensuring joined-up call for all patients

What can patients see advanced nurse practitioners for?
Patients can see advanced nurse practitioners for both minor and long-term conditions. This ranges from the treatment of common illnesses, such as infections or more complicated or chronic conditions, such as diabetes and COPD.

Common minor illnesses include problems such as sore throat, ear ache, cold and flu, cough, chest infection, thrush, athlete’s foot, wounds, emergency contraception, conjunctivitis, infections, diarrhoea and vomiting, headaches, joint pain, musculoskeletal problems (back, hip and shoulder pain) and minor injuries.

How can patients book to see or access advice from an advanced nurse practitioner?
Patients can book an appointment by contacting the surgery in the usual way. With an increasing number of GP practices working together to deliver services, there might also be an option to see an advanced nurse practitioner on the weekend.

Patients will see an advanced nurse practitioner in the same way they would usually see their GP. e.g. in a private room. If a patient sees an advanced nurse practitioner and requires further clinical expertise, they will still be able to see a GP if they need to.