What is the General Practitioner's understanding of multidisciplinary teamwork?

Background

There has been a move to increase multidisciplinary working in primary care, driven both by policy changes and by workforce challenges. The perspectives of the General Practitioners have not been widely investigated.

Aim

The aim of this project was to explore what general practitioners (GPs) understand by ‘multi-disciplinary, primary healthcare team working’ in the current climate.

Design, Setting and Methods

A descriptive qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews was undertaken to explore the views of six GPs. Transcribed interviews were thematically analysed.

Results

Analysis of the interviews identified six broad themes. These were: practice team structure and function, GPs’ perceptions of their own role within the team, others’ roles within the team, communication issues, constraints impacting upon change and lastly, relationships with external organisations.

Conclusions

General practice multidisciplinary teams are at present in a considerable state of flux due to changes in the workforce, with the introduction of new members, notably paramedic practitioners, extended nursing team roles and physician associates. The extension of the team has implications for increasing the supervisory and leadership role of the GP, without GPs necessarily feeling that they have the skill set for extending that role. The transition from providing physician-only care to team care provision, is seen as inevitable, given the work force strictures on general practice, but this study suggests it is not universally welcomed.