First Contact Practitioners & Wider Workforce
What you need to know…
FCP Supervisor Training
Statement from NHSE WTE
The route to becoming a supervisor for FCP Roadmap education and training is integrated into NHS England WT&E’s process for the approval of multi-professional educators. This process is led by the Primary Care Training Hubs in NHS England’s regional teams and is aligned to NHS England WT&E’s Quality Framework, which sets out the multi-professional quality standards for all clinical learning environments.
FCP Expectations & FAQs
This FAQ provides clear answers to common questions about the role of First Contact Practitioners, their responsibilities, and how they fit within the healthcare team. This NHSE guide will help you understand what First Contact Practitioners do and how they support patient care. See here.
Core Role
- Access undifferentiated undiagnosed MSK conditions
- Advise on patient work related issues
- Face to face and telephone appointments
- Signpost patients to wider services
- Clear understanding of MSK pathways
Additional Skills
- Requesting imaging
- Interpreting imaging
- Requesting bloods
- Injection Therapy
- Prescribe (NMP or independent prescriber)
- Refer to secondary care
- Certification of Fit notes
List for Surgery
Expected Outcomes
- Earlier access to specialised services
- Increase GP capacity
- Introduce MSK specialism to practice and support and upskill wider team
- Reduced referral to secondary care
Access
- Self booking
- Triaged at reception
- Inter-practice referral – this should be kept to a minimum
Core Role
- Taking medical histories
- Performing clinical examinations
- Assessing undifferentiated
presentations - Managing acute and chronic
conditions - Signposting to wider services
- Referrals into secondary care
- Requesting and interpreting further
investigations - Triage
Additional Skills
- Specialist clinics
- Minor surgery
- Chronic disease management
- Home visits
- Care home ward rounds
Expected Outcomes
- Increase capacity of appointments
- Provide continuity of care
- Provide holistic approach
- Help meet PCN requirements
- Reduce waiting times
- Provide advice to wider MDT
Access
- Self-booking
- Triage through reception
Core Role
- Assessing acute undifferentiated
complaints typically in ‘on the day
appointments’ - Face to face and telephone
appointments - Telephone triage
- Facilitate input of wider services
such as social prescribing, OT etc
Additional Skills
- Undertaking home visits or care
home rounds. - Prescribe (NMP or Independent
prescriber) - Requesting bloods
- Patients with combined medical and
social needs - Chronic disease management
Expected Outcomes
- Increased GP capacity
- Shorter patient waiting time
- Increased patient satisfaction
- Improved patient outcomes
- Improved population health
Access
- Can be booked by reception
- Available to support other clinicians
such as PN’s
Core Role
- Assess patients independently, provide a
formulation, plan treatment, implement and evaluate individual programmes of care - Assess undiagnosed/undifferentiated mental health presentations
- Deliver psychoeducation and discuss appropriate options for treatment
- Complete and/or instigate onward referrals
- Facilitate input from wider services
- Undertake risk assessments and formulate risk management plans
Additional Skills
- Deliver brief evidence-based interventions
(within scope of competencies) - Prescribing/de-prescribing/medication reviews (where MHP is a prescriber)
- Provide general health and lifestyle information
- Carry out or refer for physical investigations
- Certification of fit notes
- Supporting Letters
Expected Outcomes
- Increased GP capacity
- Shorter patient waiting times
- Improving the management of mental health
- conditions in primary care and smoother
transition between primary and secondary care - Access to the right support, in the right place, at the right time
- Provide a “full package” approach (within scope of competencies) and consistency of care to patients within primary care
Access
- Face to face and telephone appointments
- Booking via care navigation at reception
- Initial telephone triage by MHP
- Provide specialist mental health advice
and ongoing education to the individual GP team - Support maintenance of the GP practice
- Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) targets including depression and severe
mental illness
Core Role
- Expert in diet and lifestyle advice
- Specialist consultations for many
common conditions such as diabetes,
weight concerns (over and under
weight), digestion issues and frailty. - Assess, diagnose, and recommend
appropriate treatment or referral - Provide preventative lifestyle advice
(individual or group)
Additional Skills
- Infant and child feeding difficulties
(with appropriate qualifications) - Non-medical prescribing qualification (supplementary prescriber)
- Request and monitor bloods Refer
onto secondary care
Expected Outcomes
- Increase GP capacity
- Reduced referral to secondary care
- Upskill primary care team
- Easy access to dietitian
- Contribute to QOF points for diabetes and obesity
Access
- Self booking Triage by reception
- Referral by other members of the
- Primary Care MDT
- Face to face, telephone and video appointments
Core Role
- A diagnostic clinician who is able to
assess and manage patients with
undifferentiated and undiagnosed
conditions - Frail older adults – at home and also in
care homes - Adults with mental health conditions
- Adults with health and work problems
- Long term condition management
Additional Skills
- Prevention and upstreaming interventions
- Long term condition prevention and
management eg fatigue, anxiety,
breathlessness, frailty, dementia, pain, diet and weight management - Cognitive assessment, support and dementia reviews
- Referral to secondary care / community services
- Personalised care and support plans
Expected Outcomes
- Increase GP capacity
- Focus on proactive interventions to maximise health and wellbeing
- Support people to stay in / return to work
- Deprescribing – reduce need for anxiety and pain medications
Access
- Self booking Triage by reception
- Referral by other members of the
- Primary Care MDT
- Social prescribing team
Resources
- Overview of Primary Care Roadmap
- First Contact Practitioner – North West Info
- First Contact Practitioner – Roadmap Supervisor Training Course
- CQC – First Contact Pracititioner: Mythbuster
- Newly Qualified Pharmacist pathway – Employer Key Stakeholder Briefing
- Primary Care Learning for Non -Pathway Pharmacy Professionals
- Workforce Development Framework: Social Prescribing Link Workers
Education
Click the links below to find out more about Education in the NHS…
Action Learning Sets (ALS)
General Practice Assistant
Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)
Non-Medical Prescribing (NMP)
TALC (Consultation Skills)
Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS)
Green Training For Practices
Knowledge & Library Services
Resources & E-learning
GP, PA & Supporting Roles
Whether you’re already working across the region and you’re looking for local training and education opportunities or if you’re thinking about joining our local workforce, then we hope our pages will help you to find out more about what a great place this is to work.
If you have any questions you want to ask or would like to know more about how to use our website please contact us
Have a question?
Contact the Hub using the form below or email us via cmicb-sth.cheshireandmerseysideth@nhs.net