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Tool 13 – PART/workload assessment
Why you should use this tool
To help you as a practice or care agency to prioritise those conditions you will tackle next to provide self care support to patients. To review the frequency with which patients are consulting for specific conditions in your practice, group of practices or care agency.
When to use this tool
In a practice or care agency planning day or team meeting – working in a group.
What to doTake some of the conditions listed in box 1 overleaf. These may be conditions for which patients might undertake more self care, or conditions where GPs, nurses and other care professionals are seeing patients who they believe do not need to consult them directly. Place these selected conditions in the matrix of box 2 according to whether they occur frequently and, if they do, the workload implications for the GP, (triage) nurse or other care professional. Either estimate the frequency and complexity of such consultations as a team, or collect or collate baseline data first.
Time:up to an hour with ensuing discussion, as long as someone has collected baseline data on workload for the identified conditions. Additional time will be needed for subsequent action planning. |
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How it works
It allows a practice or care agency team to prioritise one or more conditions for which there is potential opportunity to minimise practice or care agency team workload, but ensure similar or improved patient health and wellbeing outcomes. Thinking of the four components of self care support brings a wide perspective (see box 3). This is known as the PART model (Prevention, Await resolution, Relieve symptoms, encourage Tolerance).
What to do next
Arrange a review meeting for the first conditions prioritised to report on progress, discuss barriers to action and highlight patients’ responses. If all is going well, include other conditions; if progress is slow, focus on solutions that will re-affirm the culture of supporting and promoting self care for patients.
For more information on this tool, please click on Tool 13 and the illustrated care pathways
Supporting self care in primary care
Box 1 Examples of conditions for which patients consult a GP, practice or care agency team that might be amenable to enhancing patients’ self care |
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| Acne Acute constipation Acute diarrhoea Allergic/acute rhinitis/hayfever Allergy Anxiety Asthma Backache Breathlessness/wheezing Chronic constipation Conjunctvitis Cough Cystitis Depression Diabetes – type 1 Diabetes – type 2 Dizziness/giddiness/faintness Dry skin Dyspepsia/indigestion/heartburn Dysuria Enzema Fever/pyrexia Frozen shoulder/pain Gastroenteritis Haemorrhoids Head lice Hypertension Ingrowing nail Insomnia/sleep disturbance |
Impotence Irritable bowel syndrome Knee disorder Menopause Menstruation disorder Migraine Mouth ulcer Nappy rash Nausea Obesity Oral thrush Pain in neck Palpitations Premenstrual tension Psoriasis Rash Sciatica Sinusitis Smoking cessation Sore throat Stress Tiredness Tonsillitis Upper respiratory tract infection Urinary incontinence Vaginal discharge Veruccae/warts Vomiting |
PART/workload assessment
Workload on GP/practice team (complexity and/or length of consultation)
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Prevention |
Await resolution |
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Relieve symptoms |
Tolerance |
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Supporting self care in primary care
Box 4. Checklist of practice team members’ roles in supporting self care for each selected condition |
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Condition: |
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Prevention |
Await resolution |
Relieve symptoms |
Tolerance |
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GP |
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Nurse |
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Health care assistant |
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Practice manager |
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Receptionist |
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Pharmacist |
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Patient group |
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Other |
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