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6. Professional practice and development
6.1 People as partners
There was overwhelming agreement that service professionals should work with people living with long-term conditions as partners. However, people suggested that for this to happen professionals need to give up some control and be willing to empower people and unpaid carers.
To help people to have more control over their own care it was suggested that a key worker or co-ordinator should be appointed at diagnosis.
"Provide access to 'navigators' to guide [people] through the system."
This person would:
- Help to interpret the diagnosis.
- Offer up-to-date information.
- Provide support, advice and education.
- Help deal with wider issues, for example family or finances.
- Signpost people and unpaid carers to support, services or resources.
- Act as a 'lead' person for people with complex conditions.
6.2 Professional education
The events suggested that training programmes for service professionals currently do not cover long-term conditions adequately. It was suggested that effective, quality assured, evidence-based education on long-term conditions should be built into undergraduate and pre-registration education. This should recognise the expertise of people who live with long-term conditions.
At postgraduate/post-registration level, there was a call for the NHS, further and higher education sectors and NHS Education for Scotland to work together to ensure practitioners continue to learn about long-term conditions throughout their working lives. One suggestion for achieving this was to use a tool-kit approach as well as 'professional portfolio building'. This should be supported by sharing good practice through existing means such as conferences and journal articles.
It was also suggested that GPs in particular required training in the range of support available locally and nationally to which they can signpost people with long-term conditions.
" GPs also need training in the use of the support network, e.g. pharmacists, voluntary sector, specialist services and what is available locally and nationally."
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