A new report from the U.K. think tank Reform claims that only one of three people who visit a GP surgery are ill enough to need to see a doctor and that the remainder could talk with a practice nurse instead.
Task shifting to nurses could free up enough time to allow GPs to provide 20-minute appointments, it concludes. The report claims this change could help alleviate some of the strain on the GPs, reduce the number of people going to emergency departments, and save the NHS £700m ($USD 900 million) a year.
The Royal College of GPs refuted some of the claims, responding that many surgeries are struggling to recruit nurses and that nurses are already under pressure and may not have time to see more patients.