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

Since 2019, thousands of additional staff have been recruited into healthcare roles at general practices in the region – 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 in England 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 in to see a physiotherapist.

Dr Kheelna Bavalia, Regional Medical Director for Primary Care, said:
“Record numbers of people are seeking support from their GP practice, with teams treating thousands 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 growing demand.

“While people will always be able to see their family doctor when they need to, the NHS is giving people more options with thousands of new staff working in General Practice in the South West 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 66% of people in the South West said they were confident at identifying the roles available, they didn’t know that mental health practitioners (64%), physiotherapists (68%), or social prescribers (88%) could be found at a general practice.

And more than 76% of people surveyed in the South West 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.

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.