As we start to think about the next stages of the fight against Covid19 we are expecting that we will see a form of “normal service” return to the Primary Care and the General Practice area over the next few weeks and months. We’ve heard that it is widely the case that patients have been largely avoiding attending the GP and that attendance numbers are down considerably on what would be expected. While it remains to be seen how soon those patients will present to their GP it should be expected that this situation will unlock and practices could be faced with busier than ever appointment books.
With this in mind we are kickstarting our recruiting efforts, ready to deal with the potential surge in hiring that is going to be required to help cope with the backlog of patients that we know are out there right now. We also know that our fight against Covid19 is not over and there will be changes required to how we do things in Primary Care for a significant length of time. We have to consider that reduced appointments over extended clinic hours along with expanded use of telephone triage and video will remain part of the environment and that this will create additional pressures on staffing, resourcing and hiring.
We want to hear from GPs (2020 Scheme included), Practice Nurses and Practice Managers who are either looking to return to the workforce or make a change based on their own circumstances. You can see more about the roles that we are talking about here on our Jobs section.
We also want to hear from GPs and their practices along with other healthcare providers in the community who think that the might need some staffing support over the coming months. Our team is ready to help where we can and we guarantee that we will find a way to work together so that everyone benefits. As an example we’ve talked to some practices about creating a localised co-op model for staffing so that administration and costs can be shared, leaving the practices more time to get on with patient care. Feel free to reach out to our Primary Care Lead – Barry McConaghy (086 3805752) or barry.mcconaghy@matchmedics.com to discuss how we might be able to help out.