Benefits to a General Practice
of introducing a nurse-led Minor Illness service
We have run a nurse-led service in our practice for the last twelve years, and have gradually expanded the number of appointments provided. We now have four clinical nurse specialists in minor illness for our 7,800 patients, all of whom are nurse prescribers. They see the vast majority of our patients who request same-day appointments, and manage 94% of them without referral to the doctors.
The benefits to our practice have been:
- Reduction in doctor workload
- Longer appointment times
- More appropriate use of the doctors’ time in managing complex problems
- Reduced locum fees
- Reduced waiting time for patients
- More time for patient education in self-care
The disadvantages have been:
- Time spent initially in clinical supervision of the nurses
- Five days of nurse time to attend the seminar week
- Higher pay scales for the nurses
We believe that the advantages of investing in experienced nurses heavily outweigh the disadvantages. The relevant references are given below. Click on the links to read reports from other practices which have introduced a similar system. These case reports are taken from an independent NHS body, the Working in Practice Partnership. More information about setting up a minor illness service in general practice can be found on the PAGB website.
Case Studies
References
Laurant M, Reeves D, Hermens R, Braspenning J, Grol R, Sibbald B. Substitution of doctors by nurses in primary care. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD001271. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001271.pub2
Kinnersley P Anderson A Parry K et al. (2000) Randomised controlled trial of nurse practitioner versus general practitioner care for patients requesting ‘same day’ consultations in primary care. BMJ 320: 1043-8
Shum C Humphreys A Wheeler D et al.(2000) Nurse management of patients with minor illnesses in general practice: multicentre, randomised-controlled trial. BMJ 320: 1038-43