Care navigation is a new way for general practice staff to ensure that patients are being signposted to the most appropriate source of care.

This training was introduced in response to the ‘General Practice Forward View’ and the importance of role is further supported by the NHS Alliance report ‘Making Time in General Practice’. In this report in was shown that, on average, 27% of GP appointments were found to be potentially avoidable.

Many of these patients would have been better served by:

  • An appointment with another member of the practice team (general practice nurse or health care assistant)
  • An appointment with a member of another service in the wider primary care system (pharmacy, physiotherapy, or mental health services)
  • Self-care or navigation to non-medical services in the community (social care)

This research proposed that by introducing care navigation this figure of 27% could be reduced by up 16%. This would release GP appointments for those patient most in need and improve patient experience by ensuring that they are receiving the right care – first time.

Care navigators receive the necessary education, training and support to ensure that they can work safely and effectively in patient-centred care. The aim of this initiative is to upskill our current primary care workforce, to reduce the ever-increasing demand on GP workload and, ultimately, to ensure that our patients are receiving the right care, first time.

Care navigators are members of GP support staff who have been trained to help patients get the right help from the right health profession as soon as possible by asking for a little more detail from the patient when they call.

To date the CCG has successfully supported 272 care navigation training sessions at Bronze, Silver and Gold level to staff from 78 practices! (correct as of 17/10/18)

This is the next and last, planned opportunity to attend the Bronze and Gold Care Navigation Training as part of the current funded programme.

If you have not yet taken up this training opportunity then we would highly encourage you to sign your staff up.