Seeing double: expanding GP capacity through teamwork and redesign.

Abstract

Like many practices, we’ve felt the pinch from a shrinking GP workforce. Over a period of some years we’ve suffered from GP turnover: younger GPs emigrating to Australia or Canada, with the more senior among us contemplating approaching retirements. Recruitment has faltered and failed. We responded with some radical ideas and embraced change. This year we merged with a ‘super practice’ to ensure our future viability and we also decided to recruit two advanced nurse practitioners to spread our workload. But we also came up with a novel idea to redesign the GP consultation involving our practice nurses, effectively expanding GP capacity. The idea was simple but challenging. For suitable patients, might it be possible to split the consultation such that history taking and basic observations or examination could be done by the nurse, with the GP then completing the consultation after a brief handover? The nurse then starts a new consultation in the next room — and so on. …