Hi
I am asking for some advice/tips on getting Shared care up and running in the East Riding of Yorkshire, we currently have a small number of GP's who are part of the scheme, but need more, if only because of the large geographical area. I have been in post as Clinical lead for Shared care Practitioners ( a new post) for 2 months and one of the requirements is "to expand, expand, expand". Any tips will be very gratefully recieved,

Alisonjayne

Hi
Presentations, outlining who does what and when. Reasurrance that the support will be there for the GP and just keep phoning and asking to present to the GPs, is working okay for me. I have had two practices who said 'no' without allowing me to present to them in person, which is a shame. I think that face to face contact between you and the GP is paramount in getting them on board. I usually get invited to lunch time training/information sharing sessions and to date have found this very successful. The fact that you have some GPs signed up already should be of benefit, if they are having a good experience, then you have the evidence that shared care can work, for all. Good advice I had when I started was to start small and build. It can and is very slow but keep going.
Good luck.
Kind Regards
Wendy

Get an interesting GP speaker to talk to them all. Put on some food and make it an evening meet after most surgery's have closed. GP's seem to respond well to advice from peers - same as most of us.

Alison,
Good to see you using this forum. It can be lonely being a pioneer.

It is important not to rush this, as doubtful GPs will seize upon a poorly-managed case as a reason not to get involved. (Round here one senior GP is still quoting a 20 years-ago single bad experience as a reason not to treat heroin users)

Having a small case load of 'simple' clients transferred from a core service to a willing GP, then getting them to talk to other GPs is a way to go. If you are being pushed to "expand, expand", use that to get the resources to set up some training as Simon says, a good venue and nice food at a convenient time (like the drug companies do).

There are good examples of shared care in other parts of rural Yorkshire, please let me know if you want some more direct support from me.

Hi Alison
One of the areas I cover is the East Riding of Yorshire. I know I am only a pharmacist, but if you want any support on this, I am also happy to help, I am also working in areas that already have Shared Care(although more urban than rural!)

We got our service up and running with several processes. We invited a GP from neighbouring Herefordshire who set up their service to come and talk to my GP colleagues who were not involved in shared care at the time. We were the only practice doing this work. He talked with them about their concerns. All practices bar one with some rather antiquated ideas are on board now.It may be helpful to invite one of the GPs doing the work in your area to do a similar thing with his local colleagues. Our JCG also provide funding for myself and one of our excellent receptionists to go into the remaining 40% of practices to talk with them about their concerns. That seems to work well if we get over the initial hurdle of gaining entry to the practice. Only one has not come on board after we have spent some time talking about our experience as a practice. The receptionist is a key part of this approach as she has been able to allay peoples fears of "all these awful druggies". Of course the pitch about the loss of the friday afternoon scenario and the fact that these patients behave in a more appreciative way towards us than a lot of other groups help in the portrayal of what it is like for the practices to get involved. The secret is to talk about all the advantages and not to push Gps hard. Keep knocking on the door and they will want to get involved to provide this service for THEIR patients. I'm now down to the more hardline practices and I just keep 'phoning every 6 months or so to try to gain an audience! James.