The Team Around the Patient Flashcards
the traditional primary health care team
GP partners GP assistants and other salaried doctors GP registrars practice nurses practice managers receptionists community nurses midwives health visitors nurse practitioners
practice nurse roles
General practice nurses work in GP surgeries as part of the primary healthcare team, which might include
doctors, pharmacists and dietitians. In larger practices, they might be one of several practice nurses sharing
duties and responsibilities while in others, they might be working on their own, taking on many roles. General
practice nurses may also have direct supervision of healthcare assistants at the practice.
They might be involved in most aspects of patient care including:
• obtaining blood samples
• ECGs
• minor and complex wound management including leg ulcers
• travel health advice and vaccinations
• child immunisations and advice
• family planning & women’s health including cervical smears
• men’s health screening
• sexual health services
• smoking cessation.
district nurse roles
District nurses play a crucial role in the primary health care team. They visit people in their own homes or
in residential care homes, providing increasingly complex care for patients and supporting family
members.
As well as providing direct patient care, district nurses also have a teaching and support role, working with
patients to enable them to care for themselves or with family members teaching them how to give care to
their relatives. They are also accountable for their own patient caseloads.
District nurses play a role in keeping hospital admissions and readmissions to a minimum and ensuring
that patients can return to their own homes as soon as possible.
They assess the healthcare needs of patients and families, monitor the quality of care they’re receiving
and are professionally accountable for delivery of care.
midwife role
Midwives provide care during all stages of pregnancy, labour and the early
postnatal period.
Many midwives now work in the community, providing services in women’s
homes, local clinics, children’s centres and GP surgeries.
There is the option to be hospital based, where there are opportunities for
midwives to work on antenatal, labour and postnatal wards and neonatal units.
health visitor role
Lead and deliver child and family health services (pregnancy through to 5
years)
Provide ongoing additional services for vulnerable children and families
Contribute to multidisciplinary services in safeguarding and protecting
children
macmillan nurse role
Macmillan nurses specialise in cancer and palliative care, providing support and information to people
with cancer, and their families, friends and carers, from the point of diagnosis onwards.
Macmillan nurses offer the following:
• Specialised pain and symptom control
• Emotional support both for the patient and their family or carer
• Care in a variety of settings – in hospital (both inpatient and outpatient), at home or from a local clinic
• Information about cancer treatments and side effects
• Advice to other members of the caring team, for example district nurses and Marie Curie nurses
• Co‐ordinated care between hospital and the patient’s home
• Advice on other forms of support, including financial help.
name some AHP
PT OT dietetics podiatry pharmacy counselling
pharmacist role
A pharmacist is an expert in medicines and their use.
The majority of pharmacists practice in hospital pharmacy, community
pharmacy or in primary care pharmacy, working to ensure that patients
get the maximum benefit from their medicines.
They advise medical and nursing staff on the selection and appropriate
use of medicines. They provide information to patients on how to
manage their medicines to ensure optimal treatment.
Pharmacists are able to undertake additional training in order to allow
them to prescribe medicines for specific conditions.
dietetics role
Dietetics is the interpretation and communication of nutrition science to enable people to make
informed and practical choices about food and lifestyle in health and disease.
A dietitian will be trained in hospital and community settings as part of their course. Most dietitians are
employed in the NHS, but may also work in the food industry, education, research and on a freelance
basis.
Dietitians have a wide range of responsibilities including:
• working with people with special dietary needs
• informing the general public about nutrition
• offering unbiased advice
• evaluating and improving treatments
• educating patients/clients, other healthcare professionals and community groups.
PT role
Physiotherapists help and treat people with physical problems caused by illness, accident or
ageing.
They see human movement as central to the health and well‐being of individuals and identify
and maximise movement through health promotion, preventive healthcare, treatment and
rehabilitation.
A physiotherapist’s core skills include manual therapy, therapeutic exercise and the
application of electro‐physical modalities. They also have an appreciation of psychological,
cultural and social factors influencing their clients.
OT role
Occupational therapy is the assessment and treatment of physical and psychiatric conditions using specific activity to
prevent disability and promote independent function in all aspects of daily life.
Occupational therapists work with people of all ages to help them overcome the effects of disability caused by physical
or psychological illness, ageing or accident.
Occupational therapists work with young children, adolescents, adults and older people in these areas:
• physical rehabilitation
• mental health services
• learning disability
• primary care
• paediatrics
• environmental adaptation
• care management
• equipment for daily living
what is a care manager?
Care managers are experts in working with individuals to identify their
goals and locate the specific support services that enhance well-being.
When faced with the array of choices and challenging decisions, care
managers provide support to find the best solutions.
They are highly trained social workers who work with the patient to
advise on social and financial support services.
there are mant factors driving changes which affect the primary health care team. these changes affect:
Which professional groups are part of the PHCT.
Which professional groups work alongside the PHCT.
The working relationship between these different professional groups.
economic factors affecting the PHCT
Economic factors will have a big impact on the development of healthcare
premises. The development of healthcare premises affects the PHCT because:
About 60% of primary healthcare premises are still owned by GPs
Many existing premises are too small or unfit for purpose and growing numbers
of new GPs need to be accommodated.
There is a trend away from smaller traditional doctor‐owned premises to much
larger buildings owned and developed by private companies.
There is a developing trend towards a much wider range of services within
enlarged premises. The introduction of additional services is helping to fund
new surgeries and this trend is likely to continue for both political and
economic reasons.
This presents a massive challenge to successful teamwork.
political pressures affecting the PHCT
There are political pressures to:
Reduce the cost of treatments.
Provide more treatments closer to where patients live.
