1. The Development of Nursing in General Practice in the UK
Anne Baird, RGN, MA. Nurse Practitioner,
Porter Brook Medical Centre, Sheffield

2. Introduction
I have been a nurse for 34 years and worked in General Practice / Family Medicine for 23 years
Work in a large practice, 30,000 patients, about half of whom are students at the local University
12 Doctors, 9 Nurses, 2 Health Care Assistants
Team work essential – Doctors refer to Nurses and Nurses refer to Doctors as appropriate

3. Screening and Health Promotion
“Nursing includes the promotion of health, the prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people” (ICN, 2002)
Screening and health Promotion are a key part of all nurses roles
Opportunistic or planned
Definition of Nursing, International Council of Nurses,

4. History of Practice Nursing
First Practice Nurses mentioned in 1960s
Range of duties included
Assisting the doctor
Basic examinations
Injections and dressings
Health promotion and advice
Cartwright A and Scott R. The work of a nurse employed in a general practice. BMJ, 1961.

5. Development of the Practice Nurse in the UK
Aging population with more complex health needs
Much of the management of chronic disease moved outside of hospital into General Practice
eg asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disease
More emphasis on prevention - Health Promotion and Screening activities
In 2015, 23,600 qualified nurses working in general practice

6. The role today
Nowadays nurses take on an extended role in General Practice in the UK
Treatment room duties, including taking blood samples, dressings, blood pressure
Contraception and sexual health
Chronic Disease Management
First contact role – diagnosis and prescribing
General Practice Nursing. RCGP General Practice Foundation,

7. Screening All Practice Nurses have a role in screening
Opportunistic screening - Blood Pressure, Alcohol, Weight management, smoking status
Cervical cytology programme (in UK) owes much of its success to Practice Nurses as the main sample takers

8. Health promotion All Practice Nurses have a role in Health Promotion
Support with lifestyle changes, eg smoking cessation
Support for people in managing their own long term condition, eg asthma, diabetes
Vaccination programmes – childhood programme delivered almost exclusively by Practice Nurses

9. Workshop
Yesterday, in the workshop, we considered how nurses can develop their role in screening and health promotion
We considered what activities nurses are already involved in and how they might further develop these
We explored techniques such as Motivational Interviewing to assist nurses in developing their skills

10. Posters TB screening and prevention Hypertension and CVD prevention
Monitoring of pregnant women
Women’s health
Immunisations
Diabetes screening and support
Obesity management
HIV screening and prevention

11. The Future
Nurses in Ukraine are already involved in a wide range of health promotion and screening activities
Nurses need to be supported by being given the right skills and opportunities to take this forward and build on what they are already doing

12. Doctors and Nurses Working Together
Respect for Roles and areas of expertise
Recognise in some areas nurse knows more than doctor – vaccinations
Working independently but referring to each other
Training together – e.g. training course for asthma
Talking to each other about patients
Listen to each other as we do to our patients