A new and exclusive Nursing in Practice series will explore how practice nurses are being affected by the ARRS, the measures needed to improve recruitment and retention, and considers concerns that nurses are becoming a sometimes forgotten force within the general practice team.
Long gone are the days when a practice comprised only GPs, nurses and administrative staff. The shape of the general practice team has changed dramatically.
In the early 2010s, the idea of multidisciplinary working in general practice became more prevalent, culminating in the introduction of the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS).
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While the GP recruitment crisis has been dominating headlines for the past decade, much less has been said about a crisis in practice nurse recruitment.
As a result, the unintended consequences on the practice nursing profession have received far less attention – and now, as our report and exclusive survey results will show, we are seeing the consequences.
Our series will discuss that morale among practice nurses is low. Issues around pay have ramped up, but nurses are also finding themselves working more solitary and fear they are being replaced by these new staff.
There has been acknowledgement from the government around this situation. In one of his first acts as health secretary, Wes Streeting announced that nurses would be added to the ARRS.
But with an ageing workforce and concerns around the training pipeline for practice nurses, there are fears that they have become the forgotten force.
Exclusive series
This series from Nursing in Practice, released over the next few weeks, looks into how nurses have been affected by the ARRS.
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It will examine the types of practice where nurses play the biggest roles, and how the next cohort of practice nurses will get trained. We will also be looking into the recruitment timebomb and measures to improve retention.
New: White paper
This series is based on a major new white paper from the publishers of Nursing in Practice, Cogora, on the changing general practice workforce in England, in conjunction with the Rebuild General Practice campaign group.
Alongside our sister titles – Pulse, Pulse PCN, Healthcare Leader, Management in Practice and The Pharmacist – we have surveyed around 2,500 general practice professionals, interviewed more than 100 frontline practitioners, analysed hundreds of data for every practice in England and brought together all the editorial expertise within our titles.
The white paper is being launched at a Parliamentary event tomorrow (23 January), which will be attended by MPs, GP, nursing, pharmacy and practice manager leaders, and numerous frontline GPs.
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We are aiming for this report to influence nurse and GP contract negotiations, helping make the case for more funding for general practice and pay increases for practice nurses.
Keep an eye on our dedicated section over the next few weeks.
