Care Navigation

What is Care Navigation?

You may have noticed that when you ring your GP surgery for an appointment the receptionist now asks you why. Below is a brief explanation.

Why has it been introduced?

Virtually everyone who calls a GP surgery to make an appointment asks to see to a GP, but very often help will be available more quickly from other highly skilled medical professionals such as nurses or pharmacists, or from another service, including the voluntary sector, who can support people with a wide range of social, emotional or practical needs.

Care Navigation is a tried and tested model of care that improves access to primary care services for patients and reduces the pressure on GP surgeries. It allows front line staff to provide patients with more information about local health and wellbeing services in a safe, effective way. It is about offering patients choice and help to access the most appropriate service first which is not always the GP. It means that patients that need to see a GP will find it easier to get an appointment.

Who are the Care Navigators?

Care Navigators are receptionists and admin staff who have been given specialist training to help them direct patients to the most suitable option for their care needs.

Helping you to get the right care, at the right time, from the right person.

For example, when a patient presents with symptoms that could be dealt with by another service such as a pharmacist or optician, patients can be confidently offered these choices, allowing them to go straight to the service which best meets their health and wellbeing needs. Saving you time.

Reception staff at GP Practices within Rhondda have been given specialist training and access to directories of information about services, in order to help direct patients to the most appropriate source of help or advice. This may include services in the community as well as within the practice.

Can I still see a GP if I want to?

If you don’t want to answer the questions which the receptionists ask, you are not obliged to do so. If you are offered an alternative care choice to a GP appointment, you can decline and request a GP appointment.

By accepting the navigation to another source of help, we can make sure that those people who really need to see a GP can see them as soon as possible.

Please use the links to find out more information about the services that the Rhondda Primary Care Cluster have chosen to initially concentrate on

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