The role of doctors' assistants in reducing GP administrative workload at Maylands Healthcare.

Abstract

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHS is facing increasing pressures because of growing patient demand and hospital backlogs. With the number of GPs declining, the average number of patients per GP has increased. There are reports of hospital trusts and GP practices introducing doctors' assistants (DAs) to help with clinical and administrative tasks, which has reduced the workload of doctors. As the authors are not aware of any DAs working with GPs locally, Maylands Healthcare (14 000 patients) has introduced this new workforce model by assigning a DA to each clinician's worklist. To investigate the benefit of DAs in primary care in managing doctors' administrative workload. This qualitative study involved a questionnaire for DAs and doctors, exploring their views on the role of DAs. The DAs also completed a 5-day task diary in August 2022. Responses from six DAs and five doctors were analysed. The DAs completed 398 referrals. On average, each DA completed 66 referrals and 70 other tasks. The main tasks completed were referrals, investigations, transport, liaising with organisations including social services, and directly communicating with patients. Benefits reported by DAs included a reduction in doctors' administrative workload, enabling more time for consultations and supporting vulnerable patients. Doctors felt their administrative workload reduced by 30%, reporting benefits in time-efficiency, continuity of care, and managing patients with complex conditions. This study demonstrates that the introduction of DAs has helped to manage the administrative workload in primary care, improving efficiency, patient care, and safety.