Welcome back to my column, and though the British Summertime that cannot seem to decide whether it is sunny or soaking! It has been a couple of months since I have written an instalment of this column, and the reason is simple: after realising that my previous practice was needing someone with more experience under their belt in the world of general practice, I have been seeking a role with more focus on supporting and training paramedics new to this sector. And in April, I found it! I am really excited to now be part of an organisation that is keen to give more regular training and focus on the first contact practitioner pathway.
So after navigating the intricacies of human resources (HR), I started earlier this month! The first couple of weeks were spent visiting the different sites to make sure I know how the organisation is arranged and managed, and meeting what felt like a thousand new people! I actually think this time was really valuable, because it helped me to establish names, roles and become trained on the systems used. The other factor that is invaluable from this time is learning more about the culture of the group and the right ways to approach certain queries or tasks. I also received the opportunity to shadow the paramedics in the other parts of this group and see how they are managing their workload. With up to three visits in the afternoon, it is vitally important that they are planned out logistically, with it being most efficient to go to the farthest appointment first and then work your way back in towards the practice where you can finalise your notes and discuss the plans with a supervising doctor. The patients are also pre-screened for their home visit by a doctor, meaning that there is a clear templated plan for the visit, and expectation that it will require post-visit discussion.
So, I have just come to the end of this induction period, and am now in play, with minor illness clinics booked in for me. The eventual plan is that I will be doing triage in the morning for a short time, followed by in-person clinics and finally the bulk of the home visits in the afternoon. I am really excited to actually get out on foot and bring primary care to the doors of people that are not able to get out to the surgery. The previous paramedic here left about a month ago, so I also think the GPs are happy to have a paramedic resource again!
Another responsibility is ensuring that patient letters are read within good time and appropriately actioned—examples being monitoring their blood pressure, booking blood tests or making medication changes. As part of this new role, I will be allocated a certain number of letters each day to read, assess and action, and being new here, my clinic is not quite on people's radar, so it will take some time to be regularly booked. This gives me a little bit of a ramp on to the work which is definitely appreciated at this first stage! Once trained, I will also be checking and filing laboratory results. The initial ones are cholesterol, for which there is a strict protocol. I am definitely planning to do the bloods course as soon as I can so I can be of more help with more complex blood results. This is an area in which I felt I needed more support in the last clinic, and the other medics in the group have had training on this, so I am keen to do the same!
So, that's the end of this month's stream of consciousness. I still have so much to learn and do, only being a few months into the primary care sector. However, I am determined to get to grips with it all. See you next month with news about how my clinics went!