What is Care Navigation?
Care Navigation is a support system used to help support patients accessing the correct services. Obtaining a GP appointment can sometimes seem almost impossible. The Taff Ely Cluster (all GP surgeries across Taff Ely) have been working on ways to improve GP access for those patients who need to see a GP and explore new systems that will work across the wide primary care teams ensuring patients seen the most appropriate team member at their first contact.
Sometimes though, the GP is not the best person to see. Patients could be seen and treated by a pharmacist or optician for example and in some cases, the GP practice might not be the right place at all for the query. That's where ‘care navigation’ comes in.
Care navigators are receptionists and admin staff but through specialist training they also possess additional skills and provide a crucial practice role in improving access to primary care, all with the aim of helping patients to get to the right service faster.
How Care Navigation Works
When you call the surgery our Care Navigators will ask you a few questions around the problem you are calling about. This is so they can direct you to the person who would be most suitable to help you with your problem. Of course, you do not have to do this, but it would help us to help you and other patients by ensuring GP appointments are available for those patients who do need to see a GP. The video below features a local GP explaining Care Navigation.
https://youtu.be/buN7buUkcxE