Training needs for staff providing remote services in general practice: a mixed-methods study

I read with interest Greenhalgh et al’s article entitled ‘Training needs for staff providing remote services in general practice: a mixed-methods study’ published in the January 2024 issue of the BJGP.¹

As articulated by Greenhalgh and her team, the commitment set out in the NHS Long Term Plan (2019) for general practice to offer and promote online and telephone consultations, as well as the impact of the Topol report and the effect of COVID-19, has accelerated the delivery of remote services in the last 5 years.^2,3 Data presented in Greenhalgh and team’s article show that training to prepare staff for remote consultations and/or remote triage has not kept pace with these developments.¹ Perceived training needs identified by participants in their study included technical skills (how to use the technology), communication and clinical skills (effectively using the technology to communicate), implementation skills (how to embed the technology into practice), and pedagogical skills (the ability to train others).¹

The research that Greenhalgh and her team are disseminating in their article was carried out between 2021 and May 2023. However, after their data collection finished in May 2023, several new free training resources were released by the Personalised Care Institute that may be of use to support general practice staff in delivering remote services.^4,5 These include our ‘Remote Consultations’ e-learning module, and our new ‘Virtual Patients’, which include a scenario that takes place as a remote consultation.^4,5 Our training resources have been developed by subject matter experts, and extensively tested with our ambassador network and people with lived experience. Feedback from learners who have used the resources has highlighted the high quality and relevance of the training. The resources are suitable for all health and care professionals, at any level of seniority and experience, and provide an opportunity to develop and test shared decision-making skills and teachback skills within a remote consultation, in a risk-free environment. We hope that by highlighting our resources to your readers we can provide support to colleagues undertaking remote consultations and/or remote triage.