The Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt MLA, accompanied by the Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office, Fleur Anderson MP, visited Redwood GP Surgery in Bangor to see Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) in action, which he later described as an “outstanding success.”
MDTs are the integration of various healthcare professionals, including Physiotherapists, Social Workers, Mental Health Practitioners, District Nurses and Health Visitors, who work with existing GP practice teams.
This collaboration facilitates enhanced access to Health and Social Care services within GP practices, providing a seamless and comprehensive approach to patient care.
MDTs, which are in some, but not all GP practices in the Region, allow GP practices to focus not just on managing ill-health, but also on the physical, mental and social wellbeing of communities. There is an increased focus on prevention and early intervention initiatives, ensuring the needs of patients are met at the earliest possible opportunity, reducing the need for onward referrals into hospital and community services.
The Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt MLA, who spent time speaking to GPs and members of the Multi-Disciplinary team at Redwood Surgery said, “Fleur Anderson is the NIO Minister responsible for looking after transformation, so I was keen that she saw a multi-disciplinary team. They are an outstanding success story and she is genuinely impressed by what she has seen.
“The fact that they are not rolled out across Northern Ireland is becoming a really serious issue of equity of access and it is something I need to address, but I need the budget to do it. The one bid we have in to secure extra money is with the Transformation Board, but it hasn’t made any decisions yet, so it is unlikely that we will see any decisions this financial year, but we need to see movement.”
The Director of Primary Care and Older People in the South Eastern Trust, Clare-Marie Dickson stressed, “I want my legacy to be that we have MDTs in primary care in every practice. At the moment I have fully implemented GP Federations with MDTs, I have partials and I have no MDT. What we have created is the haves and have nots and MDT envy, because MDTs matter and MDTs work.”
During the visit, both the Health Minister and the Under-Secretary of State were able to hear from Physiotherapists, Health Visitors, Social workers, Mental Health Practitioner and District Nurses, who outlined how MDTs have revolutionised the way they can care for their patients.
The Principal GP in the Redwood Surgery and Chair of the North Down Federation of Family Practices Dr Patrina Bell explained, “MDT’s are transforming the care that we are delivering to our patients. We can address social needs, mental health needs and muscular-skeletal problems early, to prevent problems deteriorating.
“We can change the path that patients take, so we can give a holistic level of care to our patients and make a real difference. It is transforming care and it is doing it in the community.”
Speaking to the Health Minister, a service user Joan Smith, described her experience of Multi-Disciplinary teams in her surgery. Joan detailed how, “I have been able to use the first contact Physio in my GP surgery. It really has made a difference, because people do not need to travel. We have mental health staff, social workers and many more staff all on our doorstep.”
As the visit ended Dr Bell stressed, “I believe rolling MDTs out to every GP practice is fundamental and would change health care in Northern Ireland.”