Primary care: working for all

Healthwatch Bolton undertook research on public perceptions of new primary care roles, including Musculoskeletal Practitioners, Mental Health Practitioners, Health Improvement Practitioners, Community Asset Navigators and Practice-Based Clinical Pharmacists. They spoke to 18 people, including members of the public, GP practice staff and representatives from voluntary and community organisations, through a series of workshops designed to explore awareness, acceptability and accessibility of these roles. 

The research found that awareness of the new roles was generally low and that many people initially had concerns about the qualifications, expertise and responsibilities of the new practitioners. However, once participants understood the purpose of the roles, they were largely supportive and recognised benefits such as quicker access to care, more specialist support within GP practices, longer appointments and improved capacity within primary care services. Many valued the opportunity to receive the right support from the most appropriate professional rather than always seeing a GP. 

Communication was identified as the main area requiring improvement. Participants wanted clearer, more accessible information about the new roles, including information in different languages and formats. Other concerns related to appointment access, trust in new systems, information sharing between services and the need for greater public understanding of care navigation and alternative ways of accessing support. Participants also highlighted the importance of recognising wider factors affecting health and welcomed more holistic, community-based approaches to care.

Healthwatch Bolton recommended co-designing promotional materials with people most likely to benefit from the new roles, publicising the expertise and training of practitioners, and making better use of GP websites, social media, community networks and patient groups to raise awareness. The report concluded that people were keen to be involved in service development and that effective communication would be crucial to building confidence in new models of primary care.