Primary Care Advanced Clinical Practitioners in Wales
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative exploration of the Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Paramedic and Occupational Therapy roles as new-to-primary care professions working at Advanced Practice Level in Wales
IRAS ID
345967
Contact name
Stella Wright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bangor University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Traditional primary care roles such as General Practitioner and practice nurse have been established for decades, however Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) roles are in the process of being rolled-out and established in primary care, for example Pharmacists and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs). Consequently, there is little published literature or evidence related to the implementation, embedding and sustainability of these professions in primary care.
Recently, primary care clinicians have described unprecedented pressure attributed to increased patient complexity, rising patient expectations, demand for appointments, financial constraints and an expectation for GPs to accommodate care previously undertaken in hospitals. This has coincided with an ageing GP workforce, declining GP numbers and recruitment and retention difficulties in the wider clinical workforce. On government advice, the multidisciplinary model has been rolled out in recent years. This model has seen new-to-primary care healthcare professions introduced at pace. The rationale was to support some of the challenges outlined above, diversify the workforce, increase patient choice, and utilise the unique skills of each profession.
This study will use multiple case study approach to explore the professional and primary care context by interviewing AHP professions (paramedics, occupational therapists, physiotherapists) and pharmacists working at ACP level in primary care and community services in Wales (across three distinct health boards).
Interviews will also take place with healthcare stakeholders in Welsh Government and NHS organisations such as Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)to understand the strategic background.
All participants will be interviewed once via Microsoft Teams or telephone, interviews will be transcribed and reviewed using thematic analysis.REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A