Queen’s Nursing Institute survey of GP nurses
The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) launched a major new report on general practice nursing on Monday 18 January. The report is based on an online survey completed by over 3,400 General Practice Nurses (GPNs) during 2015.
‘General Practice Nursing in the 21st Century: A Time of Opportunity’ summarises some of the key challenges affecting the profession today. It is the largest and most up to date survey of GPNs, and the first carried out by the community nursing charity.
Dr Crystal Oldman, QNI Chief Executive commented on the implications of the report for London:
“Our survey shows the huge range of healthcare carried out by nurses in GP practices. The management of long term conditions is particularly important in London because the capital has some of the highest rates of deprivation and the lifestyle factors that tend to accompany it.
“We also noted that GP practices in London are significantly less likely than elsewhere to offer placements for nursing students. Nationally the figure was around 27%, but in London only 19%. High quality student placements are a vital means of attracting new nurses into roles in primary care, and London students deserve this opportunity.”
Dr Oldman, went on to look at the broader findings of the report:
“This survey validates the role of the General Practice Nurse and the support provided by nurses in General Practice at every point during a person’s life, from infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, to middle and older age. They are a vital part of the healthcare system in every part of the UK.
“The findings of the survey indicate some major challenges and opportunities which need to be addressed. The role of nurses in General Practice is expanding rapidly, and many of today’s nurses are now undertaking roles traditionally the reserve of GPs. There is a huge opportunity for increased investment in the General Practice Nurse workforce, to build the capacity of primary care, move more care to the community and closer to people’s own homes, and ease the pressures on A&E.”
“The survey findings will be useful to policy makers and workforce planners as they explore new models of care and meet the challenges of an older population with multiple and complex healthcare needs. The number of nurses planning to retire should be of major concern and we need to ensure that enough nurses are attracted to the profession so that patients can continue to receive high quality nursing care for themselves and their families when they attend the GP’s surgery.”
Headline findings of the survey
Note: these figures were corrected on 21 January 2016, having been mis-transcribed when the page was first published on 20 January.
Workforce
- 33.4% of General Practice Nurses are due to retire by 2020
- Men are under-represented, comprising only 2.0% of the General Practice Nurse workforce
- 43.1% did not feel their nursing team has the right number of appropriately qualified and trained staff to meet the needs of patients
- At the time of the survey, 78.8% had considered preparation for NMC re-validation
Education
- 53.0% reported that their employer always supports their professional development
- 10.6% hold an NMC recordable specialist practice qualification in General Practice Nursing
- 32.6% of General Practice Nurses are independent prescribers
- Just 27.0% of the employers offered placements for pre-registration nursing students, compared to 61.5% offering placements to medical students
Employment
- 22.8% of nurses working in General Practice have two jobs
- 32.6% of General Practice Nurses reported working evening sessions (after 6pm) and 18.5% work weekends
- Over 38.3% indicated that they undertook visits to patients at home
- Only 35% felt that their salary reflected their role within the practice
- Salary and other terms and conditions such as annual leave entitlement vary widely
Last updated : 21 Jan 2016
Superfast broadband vouchers worth up to £3000 are available. (11 Sep 2015)
The government’s superfast broadband connection vouchers are still available to small and medium sized businesses in 22 super connected cities across the UK. London is one of the 22 super...Don’t let your NMC registration lapse – important information for nurses and practice managers. (11 Sep 2015)
From November 2015 anyone who allows their registration to lapse will need to make an application for readmission to regain access to the registrar. This could take between two...Updated Subject Access Requests (SARs) guidance from the BMA (11 Sep 2015)
The BMA has issued guidance Focus on’ guidance on Subject Access Requests (SARs) for insurance purposes. The guidance has been updated following the Information Commissioner’s Office input and includes...Training and development events for GPs and practice staff (11 Sep 2015)
Reflective Practice Masterclass (10 October 2015, 13 November 2015 and 4 December 2015) – Each master class helps individuals to identify both the organisational and psychological barriers to change and...Increased savings on magazine subscription packages with DLT Magazines (11 Sep 2015)
DLT are the UK’s leading supplier of magazine subscription packages to businesses. Offering permanent discounts of up to 70% off cover prices and a range of over 150 leading titles,...Egg-free flu vaccine Optaflu now available (11 Sep 2015)
MASTA, one of the Buying Group’s approved flu vaccine suppliers for the 2015-16 season, is now carrying stocks of the egg-free flu vaccine Optaflu. This can be delivered out with...Retired Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators update (11 Sep 2015)
Following concerns highlighted by practices in relation to the request from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) to extract data related to retired QOF indicators, the BMA’s General...Friends and Family Test - act now to avoid a breach notice (11 Sep 2015)
We are aware that there may be some confusion about the data required for the Friends and Family Test (FFT). NHS England data on the monthly returns show that many...Warning for practices over PBX phone systems (11 Sep 2015)
There are reports that some businesses have recently been victims of PBX (Private Branch Exchanges) fraud where a hacker accessed their phone lines and made premium rate calls at a...Speakers' Corner - Undergraduate teaching in General Practice. Your medical school needs you! (09 Sep 2015)
This month Joe Rosenthal, Senior Lecturer in General Practice & Sub-Dean for Community Based Teaching at UCL Medical School, gives us his view of undergraduate teaching in general practice....Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.