Over the coming months you will notice your receptionist asking you for a brief outline of your problem when you call to make an appointment.

Through this specialist Care Navigation training, GP Practice teams will be able to offer you more choice on who may be the best health care clinician within a GP Practice. Receptionists will never offer clinical advice – this new way of working is about offering the choice to see other specialists, which include services in the community as well as within the practice. If they have the expertise to deal with the problem, you will often be seen quicker.

For example, medication reviews or queries can be managed by a community pharmacist, which you may not be aware of if you haven’t visited the practice in a while.

By working this way, it helps to free up time for GPs to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions.More importantly, it means people are seen by the most appropriate healthcare professional.

The choice is always yours, but we hope that when you contact your GP Practice and speak with the receptionist you will benefit from the value of seeing an alternative healthcare professional if they are able to help.