Over the past two years, GP surgeries have adapted the way consultations can be offered to keep patients safe and make sure those with the greatest need are seen first.
This means that patients can now benefit from the expertise of a range of professionals within surgery teams, such as nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and social prescribers, and surgery teams can consult with patients as efficiently as possible in ways that work best for everyone.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has been looking at the benefits of patients seeing physiotherapists as their first contact within primary care (First Contact Physiotherapy (FCP)) and has produced a video highlighting these benefits.
The video showcases Central Cheltenham Primary Care Network (PCN) which has an FCP service delivered by Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC). This service has received high praise from both GPs and patients alike who are benefiting from the clinical expertise of FCPs (which includes things like being able to give joint injections and sign Fit Notes).
GHC First contact physiotherapist Zoe Jones is featured in the film and is keen to spread the word about the success of the service.
“I feel that my consultation is making a real difference to starting patients off on the correct treatment,” she said.
“This approach to FCP allows patients to see ‘the right person, in the right place, at the right time.”
Dr Olesya Atkinson, a GP and clinical director at Cheltenham PCN, believes integrating first contact physiotherapy into their GP surgeries has resulted in better outcomes for patients.
Dr Atkinson said: “We love our FCP. We know that their service is providing better care for patients and making a positive impact on our workload, and we also really like being able to have a second opinion from someone who has much more musculoskeletal (MSK) experience than us.
‘There are also additional benefits, beyond providing initial MSK assessments, because our FCPs are able to offer joint injections; they are independent prescribers, and they can also sign Fit Notes, which means they can advise people on returning back to work – and that isn’t something that is then passed on to GPs to do.”
Dr Atkinson confirmed that 95% of patients who have accessed the service have reported that they would be very happy to use it again if they experienced any other MSK problems. In addition, feedback collected by GHC indicates that most patients rate the service as either “outstanding” or “excellent”.