Describing team development within a novel GP-led urgent care centre model: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Team Dynamics
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Urgent care centres (UCCs) co-located with emergency departments (EDs) aim to reduce inappropriate ED admissions.
• Novel GP-led UCC models integrate General Practitioners (GPs) and Emergency Nurse Practitioners (ENPs), professionals not traditionally working together in emergency settings.
• Limited literature exists on team development within these novel interprofessional healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe staff members' perspectives on team development within a novel General Practitioner (GP)-led Urgent Care Centre (UCC) model.
• To identify factors influencing the evolution of interprofessional teams in a co-located UCC/ED setting.

Main Methods:

• Open-ended, semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 UCC staff members (GPs, ENPs, receptionists, managers).
• Thematic content analysis was used to analyze interview data.
• The study was set in GP-led UCCs within two academic teaching hospitals in London.

Main Results:

• Participants reported positive development of the interprofessional team over time, noting a diminishing hierarchy.
• Staff recognized that interdisciplinary collaboration is likely to enhance patient care.
• Eight key facilitating factors were identified: leadership appointment, fair workload perception, role/skill education, shared professional understanding, interdisciplinary working, ED collaboration, clinical guidelines, and social interactions.

Conclusions:

• A strong interprofessional team has evolved within GP-led UCCs, overcoming traditional professional divisions.
• Future UCC implementations should proactively integrate the identified facilitating factors to expedite effective team development.