Asthma education for primary care, delivered through protected learning time
By Jo Massey, Children’s Asthma Nurse Specialist, Croydon Asthma Team
Background
Part of my role as an Asthma Nurse Specialist in Croydon is to provide asthma training for staff working in primary care. This can be a challenge, as Croydon is one of the largest London boroughs and has a total of 45 GP surgeries. As a small team, delivering individual training for practices was therefore not feasible.
I was not aware of Protected Learning Time (PLT) for our GP colleagues, but having researched it further, I discovered it involved peer-led sessions for staff working in primary care. This includes GPs, Practice Nurses, Health Care Assistants, Allied Health Professionals and Physician Associates.
PLT events are dedicated learning time away from the busy day-to-day work in GP surgeries. They provide an opportunity for practice staff to identify learning needs and keep up to date with guidelines and changes in practice. Meeting together in this way also provides the chance to share knowledge, skills and experiences.
This seemed the ideal way for the team to connect with GPs and other primary care staff in Croydon, as well as capturing a larger audience to deliver bespoke asthma training.
The team had previously identified a need for primary care training, to help improve asthma care, identify high risk patients, and forge better working relationships with our primary care colleagues.
First steps
The idea to deliver training at the PLT event actually came from the Children & Young People’s GP Lead for Croydon. Our team had already established a good working relationship with him, and he kindly offered to book us in to deliver training last September, during the annual NHS England – London #AskAboutAsthma campaign. The timing couldn’t have been better!
The intervention
To ensure the training was tailored to the specific learning needs of attendees, I sent out a short survey via email to all of the GP surgeries in Croydon, asking them what they would find most beneficial in the session.
The feedback rate from this was fairly good, and the following key areas were subsequently:
- How do diagnose asthma without formal lung function testing
- Peak flow testing and when to use it
- Asthma monitoring and treatment
- When does viral induced wheeze become asthma?
- Tips to encourage children to take their inhaler/spacer
I used a Q&A format to encompass these questions to discuss on the day.
The session was really well attended, with approximately 200 healthcare professionals of varying disciplines. The audience appeared interested and engaged. As time was limited, the team encouraged questions at the end of the afternoon sessions, and remained at the venue to be available for this.
What were the challenges?
The biggest challenge was time, as September is always a busy time of year for respiratory teams. It was difficult finding the time to develop and circulate the surveys, as well as correlate the information received, and put it into a presentation. However my colleague Jakki Sutherland and I felt it was so worthwhile, that we made it work!
And the benefits far outweigh the challenges!
- Improved patient care: supporting clinicians working in primary care to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to safely manage children with asthma, in line with national guidance.
- Identifying areas for development: such as gaps in service provision in Croydon, and areas for development, such as communication between acute and primary care, and expansion of our existing service, to provide better care for children with asthma in Croydon.
- Better working relationships: forging stronger links and improved communication with our primary care colleagues. A teamwork approach enables a seamless approach to asthma care within primary care, and reduces the risk of disjointed working. This helps us meet the needs of our patients, provide the best care possible and ultimately improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with asthma.
Overall, this project was a great success, and I would be keen to offer it on an annual basis.