The government is well over half way to delivering on its manifesto commitment of having 26,000 more primary care staff by March 2024.
Article continues below
There are now over 18,200 more people working in general practice in March 2022 compared to March 2019, and nearly 30,000 overall.
This includes clinical pharmacists, mental health practitioners, nursing and physician associates, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists and social prescribing link workers, who refer patients to community services to support their wellbeing., the Department of Health and Social Care said.
The additional staff form part of multi-disciplinary teams within primary care, working alongside GPs to care for patients with complex needs, reducing pressure on GPs and increasing capacity. Sometimes a patient may see a different clinician – a pharmacist, nurse or occupational therapist – instead of a GP as they may be the best person to meet a patient’s needs and conditions.
Clinical pharmacists, for example, are fully qualified to deal with a range of minor illnesses, providing advice and treatment.
The government continues to support general practice and injected £520 million to improve access and expand GP capacity during the pandemic, on top of the previously announced £1.5 billion to fund general practice recruitment and retention schemes.
The government is working to ensure it has the right number of staff with the skills to deliver high-quality care to meet increasing demands, with plans to run a national recruitment campaign in the coming year.
There were over 1,400 more doctors working in general practice in March 2022 compared to the same time in 2019 and a record-breaking number started training as GPs last year, data from NHS Digital shows.
The pandemic has put huge pressure on health and care services and over the next 3 years a record £39 billion will be invested through the Health and Care Levy, so the NHS has the funding it needs.
The NHS is opening new surgical hubs and up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to deliver more operations and give patients easier access to tests closer to home – with 88 CDCs already open, delivering over 800,000 scans. â–