About Care Navigation

Care navigation is a way for general practice staff to ensure patients are being directed to the most appropriate course of care through specially trained care navigators.

What are Care Navigators?

Care Navigators are members of your GPs support staff who have been trained to help you get the right help from the right place. They will work with you to ensure that you are signposted to the right support at the right time.

Care Navigators can direct patients to the most appropriate clinician or service (e.g., GP, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist).

Care Navigators will not offer any clinical advice, all medical concerns will be referred on to the practice healthcare team.

What are the benefits for patients?

Patients are more likely to see the right person the first time and may be seen sooner than they would have done if they were to see a GP. Care navigation allows patients to better understand their options and increases patient choice through a two way conversation with the care navigator.

By linking patients with the most appropriate care, Care Navigators can help to reduce the number of avoidable GP appointments releasing GP appointments for those patients most in need.

What happens when I speak to a Care Navigator?

Care Navigators understand the wide range of clinical skills available in their practice and what alternative health services are available in the local area as well as how to link patients with support for non-medical needs such as support from a Social Prescribing Link Worker.

They will ask you some basic questions about your current health problem or query and identify the most appropriate source of care.

Will my conversations with the Care Navigators be confidential?

Yes. All staff are trained in and uphold the same principles of confidentiality.