Post-CCT GP Fellowships in Urgent and Acute Care. Evaluation of pilots in the West Midlands and transfer to London and South-East

General practice is under pressure from public expectations and need, driven by an ageing population with complex needs, alongside budgetary constraints. Changing workforce models offer one way of addressing some of these issues by equipping GPs with skills and opportunities to take on new roles. One initiative in response to this challenge was the development of a one-year, post CCT, fellowship programme to equip recently trained GPs with advanced skills training in urgent and acute care, leadership, and academic practice.

The programme was developed and piloted by Health Education West Midlands and subsequently transferred to London and the South East (LaSE). We evaluated the pilot programmes in both settings.

The programme successfully met its aims.

Key outcomes were:

• developing early career doctors with the skills and knowledge relevant to integrated care, admission avoidance, ambulatory care;
• supporting patients to access alternative community-based pathways.

The programme transferred successfully to London, showing its applicability of other areas. In doing so, it became more flexible in the type of placement offered which allowed greater tailoring to individual’s specific interest. Also, the programme in LaSE was open to advanced nurse practitioners and physician assistants which was welcomed particularly by the non-GP fellows.

Future development of the programme requires investment at national level to tailor programmes to local needs.

Funded by:	Health Education England
Research team members:	Prof Jeremy Dale, Dr Carol Bryce, Rachel Russell, Fran Harkness, Roxanne Nanton
Collaborators:	Matthew Aiello (HEE), Prof Veronica Wilkie
Dates:	2016 - 2018

 

Enquiries:

Prof Jeremy Dale

jeremy dot dale at warwick dot ac dot uk

Publications:

Dale, Jeremy, Russell, Rachel, Harkness, Frances, Wilkie, Veronica, Aiello, Matthew (2017). Extended training to prepare GPs for future workforce needs: a qualitative investigation of a 1-year fellowship in urgent care.

British Journal of General Practice doi:10.3399/bjgp17X691853

Bryce, C., Russell, R., and Dale, J. (2019). Learning from the transfer of a fellowship programme to support primary care workforce needs in the UK: a qualitative study.

BMJ Open doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023384