The NHS long term plan highlights the increasing health and wellbeing demands of our population, and puts forward a new service model of care, in which AHPs are utilised better to meet these needs. This model includes GP practices working together in Primary Care Networks to cover larger populations, and within these networks, AHPs work in First Contact Practitioner roles to optimise care and reduce the burden on GPs.
The NHS will be enhancing social prescribing, empowering service users to take control of their health, promote self-care, and utilise digital advances to improve service delivery. AHPs can support the drive for preventative movements, by embedding health promotion techniques, partaking in evidence-based prevention programmes, and empower their local communities to live healthier lives.
You can read more about the NHS Long Term Plan here.
The NHS long Term Plan is focusing on how the NHS structure can support the populations needs. However, private practitioners in Podiatry can, and should, access this document for further reading around the trajectory of health conditions forecasted to increase over the next 10 years in order to reflect on current services provided and how these can be adapted to ensure it meets the needs of the local population health, and by doing so, support local NHS Trusts and services. Furthermore, continued professional development (CPD) courses in mental health and health promotion, as examples, can help to support both the trajectory for AHPs to support GPs, but also meets the updates in the HCPC Standards of Proficiency.