Understanding What GP Practices Need from the Multi-Professional Workforce in Primary Care
By Dr Natalie Jones.
As patient needs become more complex and demand on general practice continues to rise, GPs are increasingly looking to multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality, accessible and sustainable care. The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) offers a crucial mechanism to make this possible.
Through ARRS, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) can recruit from 17 roles, including clinical pharmacists, social prescribers, paramedics, mental health practitioners, dietitians, occupational therapists and more, shaping workforce models around the needs of their local populations.
Based on my research across South Yorkshire into GP expectations and patient experiences of ARRS, a clear picture is emerging when integrated effectively, the multi-professional workforce has the power to reduce pressure, enhance patient care and strengthen resilience across general practice.
What GP Practices Need: Support Without Additional Burden
GPs remain at the heart of primary care, but the traditional model alone is no longer sufficient. Rising patient numbers, increasing clinical complexity and administrative pressures are stretching the system beyond its limits.
ARRS roles offer vital support, but only when aligned with what practices genuinely need.
From interviews, focus groups and evaluation findings, five key priorities stood out:
1. Improved Access and Continuity
GPs want patients to receive timely and appropriate care. Multidisciplinary roles help reduce waiting times by providing direct access to professionals with the right expertise. Continuity remains essential — and can be achieved when patients build trusted relationships with consistently available practitioners, even if they are not GPs.
2. Greater Efficiency
ARRS roles help streamline workflows. By taking on reviews, care-planning, mental health support, lifestyle intervention or complex signposting, they release GPs to focus on diagnostic reasoning and complex presentations. This reduces burnout, supports retention and improves overall system efficiency.
3. Better Patient Outcomes
Practices are not just seeking capacity, they want colleagues who can demonstrably improve health. Whether supporting diabetes control, reducing frailty risk, improving medication safety or addressing social determinants, ARRS professionals contribute to outcomes that matter locally.
4. Collaboration and Clarity
GPs value professionals who understand boundaries and communicate effectively. The most successful models are those embedded into shared care pathways, where mutual respect, clear referral routes and coherent governance arrangements are in place.
5. Adaptability and Innovation
Primary care is evolving rapidly. Practices need roles that can adapt to new technology, changing demographics and emerging health challenges. ARRS professionals bring fresh perspectives, the development of new services and innovation in care delivery.
What Patients Value: Relationships, Respect and Reassurance
While GPs tend to emphasise access, efficiency and measurable outcomes, patients highlight the human experience.
Six core themes emerged from patient- and carer-facing interviews:
1. Timely and Flexible Access
Patients appreciate being seen quickly and in different formats, face-to-face, online, phone, and by the most appropriate professional. For one patient, immediate support from a mental health practitioner during a crisis “made all the difference” and prevented escalation.
2. Relational Qualities
Empathy, listening, and genuine understanding were often described as more important than clinical expertise. One carer told us how a social prescriber “took the time to really listen,” helping them feel supported and less alone.
3. Continuity and Consistency
Patients value long-term relationships that foster trust. Familiarity helps them share personal challenges, make changes, and feel “walked alongside” rather than processed through appointments.
4. Personalised Care
Patients want professionals who recognise their context, listen to their goals and support self-management. Tailored advice empowers people to take control of their health, especially those living with long-term conditions.
5. Professionally-Aided Navigation
Patients highly value professionals who can “open doors”, advocate and signpost. One participant described how a care coordinator helped them access housing and community services that they “didn’t even know existed”.
6. Community and Connection
Group activities, peer support and community links reduced isolation and improved wellbeing. People described feeling less alone, more motivated and better connected to others like them.
Bridging the Gap: Aligning GP and Patient Priorities
The encouraging reality is that GP and patient priorities are more complementary than they appear.
Patients want:
Time to tell their story
Empathy and compassion
Continuity of care
Advocacy
GPs want:
Improved access
Better outcomes for patients
Reduced workload pressures
Effective collaboration
At the core, both groups are seeking person-centred care delivered by a skilled, compassionate and well-integrated team.
To achieve this, several enablers stand out:
Clear role definitions and governance
Transparent referral pathways and boundaries
Ongoing supervision, development and upskilling
Operational leadership within PCNs
Structured evaluation of impact
Patient education to build trust and awareness
Feedback mechanisms that guide improvement
These conditions help ARRS roles deliver meaningful capacity, clinical quality and relational care, rather than introducing duplication, fragmentation or confusion.
A Shared Vision for Modern Primary Care
My research, shaped by the voices of GPs, practice managers, ARRS professionals, patients and carers, highlights a fundamental truth:
The multi-professional workforce is not a temporary solution; it is the future of primary care.
ARRS has created the foundation for a new model of general practice, one that is team-based, holistic, inclusive and able to respond to the wide and varied needs of local populations.
If we continue to embed these roles with clarity, support and purpose, we can build primary care systems that are:
More resilient
More equitable- addressing health inequalities
Person-centred
More sustainable
Above all, we can create services where people feel heard, supported and connected, and where GPs are freed to do what they do best.
As we continue this journey, the message is clear:
Keep listening:
To GPs
To clinicians.
To patients.
And to the needs of our communities.
Only by understanding these perspectives can we realise the full potential of ARRS and the multidisciplinary teams that are shaping the future of primary care.
For more information about ARRS roles and the multi-disciplinary team, visit NHS England » Expanding our workforce.
