Dronfield Woodhouse GP urges patients to book appointments with other experts to get care more quickly

Many practices have experts ranging from nurses and physiotherapists to dietitians and clinical pharmacists, who can help patients without a GP referral and therefore provide advice more quickly.

As we come out of the pandemic, GPs in Dronfield Woodhouse, just over the border from Sheffield, and in other parts of Debyshire, say they have been embracing new approaches to see and help more people, increasing the number of appointments compared with a year ago, and are keen for patients to understand the advantages of having a consultation with someone other than a doctor.

Dr Miles Davidson, a senior partner at Stubley Medical Practice in Dronfield Woodhouse, said: “We remain incredibly busy at the moment yet still receive a high demand for GP advice for conditions that can often be dealt with by the local pharmacist, health visitor or the community physio.

“At Stubley Medical Practice we now enjoy the support of an in-house clinical pharmacy team, which can directly help patients who may be having problems with their prescribed medication.

“We also have a specialist admin support team which helps to coordinate the care of patients who are particularly frail or vulnerable, and a social prescriber who works one-to-one with patients for whom a medical intervention or medication is not the solution.”

Guillermo Sierra is a clinical pharmacist at Stubley Medical Centre and told us about the many different ways he can help people.

He said: "I am a medicines expert who works as part of the GP team to make sure your medicines help you in getting better and staying well.

“If you need an appointment I can see you in the practice the same way you will see your GP or your nurse, and if you have a long-term condition like hypertension, diabetes, asthma or anything that requires you taking regular medication, I can talk to you about the medicines you are taking and how they work for you.

“I will also help you make changes to your lifestyle to help you stay well.

“If your medicine is making you feel bad, I can help you change your medication to minimise any unwanted side effects.

“I will also make sure that all the mediation you take are working well together.

“I will also, if necessary, do health checks like blood pressure or will make any other necessary appointments to make sure you get the tests needed to make sure your medication is working and/or not damaging your body.”

Dr Drew Smith, a partner at Wilson St Surgery in Derby, said many patients needlessly wait to see a doctor for health concerns which could be dealt with more quickly and often more effectively by someone else.

“It’s very common for me to meet with a patient, virtually or in person, and quickly realise that they should be speaking with one of our clinical pharmacists, an advanced clinical practitioner or one of the nurses,” he said.