The role of general practice nurses
Many perceive that where general practitioners lead, general practice nurses follow.
Our research proves that this is an outdated notion. Nurses are leading the way in programmes of primary care and in the management of practices across England.
In a country with an ageing population and an increasing burden from major illness, nurse-led care for patients with a number of long-term complex conditions will support the NHS to rise to meet these challenges.
Leading the Way Research
NHS England commissioned Sonnet Advisory & Impact CIC to explore the role and value of nurses in general practice in England. It is intended to help focus investment in primary care and enable it to meet the needs of more people, more sustainably. This is the third and final report in our ground-breaking series of Leading the Way research.
It follows reports published in 2021 and 2022 that brought a new understanding to the work that practice nurses did and offered a robust framework through which their value was articulated and quantified. These studies were based on research in six regions of England.
In this final report we share what we found from our research with practices across the whole of England showing where the Leading the Way model is seen, and where nurses could be more, and better involved. Almost all practices employed one or more Registered Nurses. In most practices nurses led services for respiratory conditions and diabetes; nurses also played vital roles in training and line managing other practice staff.
The Future of the role of Practice Nurses
Practice nurses have even greater potential, and, with the right backing, could do more to support primary care to meet the challenges facing the NHS.
In this report we identify several clinical and non-clinical areas where there are opportunities for greater nursing leadership and involvement. That will bring value for patients and communities, but also for the general practices that employ them. To support practice nurses to fulfil their potential, we need to remove and address several barriers and risks, not least unsustainable workloads and challenges in recruitment and retention. This report concludes with a series of recommendations to address these barriers and risks.
You can read the Leading the Way (Phase 3) Full Report and the Leading the Way (Phase 3) Summary Report here.
Supplementary documents to this report include the Leading the Way (Phase 3) Stratification Survey and the Leading the Way (Phase 3) Survey of all Practices .
