INTRODUCTION
Reports of rising pressures on general practice surgeries are becoming all too familiar. Our population is growing, and consequently GPs face increasing patient numbers and appointment requests.1 Not only are we a growing population but an ageing one, presenting increasing levels of chronic conditions, medication complexity, and polypharmacy.2 As society’s demand on health care continues to rise, general practices are increasingly struggling to keep pace.
In such a landscape, we would hope to see a comparable rise in the recruitment of GPs, but unfortunately, in the UK, both recruitment and retention of GPs in the NHS are falling short and we have witnessed an ongoing downward trend since 2015.1 Poor job satisfaction stemming from increasing workload, burnout, and lack of support are driving GPs to bring forward their plans to leave general practice.3 Unsurprisingly, GPs are not alone in their discontent, and patient satisfaction with services have slumped.4
Policymakers recognise these challenges and are introducing initiatives designed to alleviate rising pressures on GPs. One important strategy has been the expansion of multidisciplinary teams in general practice settings. Professionals such as pharmacists, paramedics, …
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