This January’s issue highlighted the current crisis the UK’s general practice system is facing and the urgent need for reform. In particular, the Loke and Lee1 analysis on the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) allowed me to reflect on a recent medical elective experience in rural Borneo; and connect this with the issues we are battling today and the potential solutions.
I believe that link workers, a role included in ARRS, may be key to the future of general practice reform because they could relieve pressure on clinical staff, and have the potential ability to practice ‘prophylactic medicine’. Link workers engage with and support patients to tackle wider determinants of health as part of the social prescribing scheme. Admittedly, the scheme has received mixed reviews, but most programmes have revealed positive outcomes for health and wellbeing, and overall reduction in usage of healthcare facilities.2
To my delight, I was able to observe a mirroring of this concept across the world in Indonesian Borneo where healthcare workers use ‘radical listening’ to collect community knowledge and implement community-designed solutions within health care.3 Here, they have witnessed a staggeringly positive impact, both in health care and conservation outcome measures.4
Although ARRS may not be perfect, there are aspects, such as link workers, which I believe can be nurtured and refined by learning from examples around the globe. Perhaps we can find a way to implement ‘radical listening’ schemes in the UK and reflect the success it has shown in the communities of Borneo.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2024
References
- 1.↵
- 2.↵
- 3.↵
Health In Harmony. Radical listening,
- 4.↵
