Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the role of nurse practitioners in filling shortages of General Practitioners.

In 2017, Professor Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England announced a career development programme was being developed for General Practice Nurses (GPNs). This programme took the form of an ‘action plan’ to recognise and develop the GPN role in transforming care and helping to deliver the National Health Service plan. The plan was published in 2017 and entitled The GPN 10 Point Plan. The GPN 10 Point plan uses an investment of £15 million from the GP Forward View funding allocation to support actions which will address the significant workforce challenges and support improvements in general practice nursing by 2020.

Getting the skills mix right in general practice is critical in addressing workload pressures as well as in delivering appropriate patient care. This will mean bigger teams of staff, including nurse practitioners providing a wider range of care options for patients and freeing up more time for general practitioners to focus on those with more complex needs.