The support on offer for patients at their GP practice is expanding across the East Midlands, thanks to thousands more healthcare staff working in local communities and the new GP access recovery plan.

More than 2,600 additional staff have been recruited into healthcare roles at general practices in the area 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.

From today, 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.

NHS Regional Medical Director, Dr Jessica Sokolov 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 2,600 new staff working in General Practice in East Midlands since 2019 meaning patients can get specialist support from mental health professionals, physios, and pharmacists without needing to see a GP first.”

Public awareness of the range of support remains low. Although 61% of people in the East Midlands said they were confident at identifying the roles available, they didn’t know that mental health practitioners 71%, physiotherapists 71%, or social prescribers 85% could be found at a general practice.

And more than 77% people surveyed said they were happy to receive care from another health worker, recognising they didn’t always need to see a GP.

To help explain the support available in the community, a new film has been released by NHS England today, which sees three curious children go behind the scenes at a general practice to meet some of these professionals and learn more about how they help patients get the care they need.

In Derbyshire healthcare professionals working alongside GP colleagues are explaining how they can help patients through a series of information videos and displays in surgeries.

Dr Shantal Deepak, a GP with Hollybrook Medical Centre in Derby, says: “Appointments for GPs get booked up quickly, but patients may well be able to see one of our other health professionals on the same day instead.

“The specialist staff – such as our paramedic, physiotherapist and mental health practitioner – will also have longer appointment times with the patient.

“They have more time to get into detail and to explore what’s behind the symptoms. Having the additional staff also frees our time as GPs to deal with the more complex cases who definitely need our input.”

Dr Deepak’s colleague Sinéad Love, who is a call handler, added: “When people call, they nearly always ask to see a doctor.

“We ask a series of questions that are recommended by our doctors and they allow us, if it’s appropriate, to offer appointments on the same day with another member of our heath care team.

“Sometimes we get a little bit of pushback, but once patients have seen the medical practitioner, they will say how pleased they are with the advice and care they have been given, and the fact they have been able to get an appointment quickly.”

TV doctor and NHS GP, Dr Ellie Cannon is also supporting the NHS campaign and, said: “As a GP, it’s so helpful to have a range of health professionals on hand at my general practice, as it means my patients benefit from a team of specialists that can help them in many different ways.

“Whether it’s mental health support or help with vaccinations or advice about their bones and joints, having more health professionals means that patients get the best possible care.

“Remember, by giving us more information about what you need help with when you contact your practice, we can get you the right care you need.”

The primary care plan published by NHS England and Government earlier this year committed to offering people more convenient options to seek care including options to self-refer for conditions such as physiotherapy, podiatry, and hearing tests without seeing a GP.