The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Primary care is the ideal setting for promotion and prevention intervention. Multiple risk behaviour interventions present several advantages over single-risk lifestyle interventions. Multiple risk behaviour interventions could be easily implemented in primary care to prevent non-communicable disease and depression. ⋯ Primary care is the most accessible service in the health system for patients. Hence primary care is the ideal setting for health education, promotion, and prevention interventions. This study will provide high-quality evidence about the effectiveness of multiple risk behaviour interventions over depression prevention.
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The General Practice Forward View (GPFV) outlined how the government plans to attain a strengthened model of general practice. A key component of this proposal is an expansion of the workforce by employing a varied range of practitioners, in other words 'skill mix'. A significant proportion of this investment focuses on increasing the number of 'new' roles such as clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, physician associates, and paramedics. ⋯ A negative correlation between advanced nurse FTE and GP FTE is potentially suggestive of substitution between roles, deliberate or otherwise. For example, practices may employ 'new' roles if they are unable to recruit GPs or they may recruit staff to free up GP time. Further work is needed to confirm these findings and to explore the reasons behind practice employment decisions.
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In the UK, poor oral health among children continues to be a major public health concern. Primary care professionals are encouraged to take a proactive approach in engaging parents and carers to develop better oral health practices for their children. Unfortunately, research has shown that patients are often exposed to inconsistent and at worst conflicting advice. ⋯ Achieving good oral health for all children requires the support of a wide range of healthcare professionals. Further education sessions such as this encourages joint learning and relationship building between professionals and influences behaviour to improve child health care as part of making every contact count. The emerging Primary Care Networks provide an excellent setting to deliver this education.