Is there a doctor in the house? Lessons from a public engagement event at the Bloomsbury theatre

On Wednesday 23rd October, Sophie Park and Ruth Abrams, (researchers based within UCL’s Primary Care and Population Health department), in collaboration with the Menagerie Theatre Company opened the doors to Bloomsbury Theatre to introduce, ‘Is there a doctor in the house? A performance and theatre workshop’. This event was a unique theatre experience, following the journey of a patient and carer as they navigated the twists and turns of our healthcare system. The purpose of our event was to discuss, with healthcare practitioners, patients, students and the general public, the three important issues identified in our evidence synthesis on delegated home visits within primary care. This research was funded by the School for Primary Care Research as part of a bigger collaborative project on evidence synthesis, the evidence synthesis working group. Our findings suggest that (1) whilst patients report short-term satisfaction when visited by an alternative health professional, the impact this has on their health (and long-term outcomes) is less clear; (2) a GP may feel home visit delegation is a risky option unless they have high levels of trust and experience with the wider multidisciplinary team; and (3) the healthcare professional receiving the delegated home visit may benefit from being integrated into general practice. In the longer-term however, these posts may not be sustainable if staff feel their clinical autonomy is limited by the delegation process.