First Contact Practitioner Physiotherapists

What is a First Contact Practitioner?

FCP roles began in 2014 to support GPs as part of an integrated care team and to optimise the patient care pathway by seeing the right person in the right place at the right time. The role has since evolved and created assurance that there is a standardisation of quality provided across multiple professionals at this level of practice to assure governance, patient safety, ensuring capability to see and manage undifferentiated and undiagnosed presentations within an agreed scope of practice.

A First Contact Practitioner (FCP) is a diagnostic clinician working in Primary Care at the top of their clinical scope of practice at Agenda for Change Band 7 or equivalent and above. This allows the FCP to be able to assess and manage undifferentiated and undiagnosed presentations.

It is the minimum threshold for working as a first point of contact with undifferentiated undiagnosed conditions in Primary Care. With additional training, FCPs can build towards advanced practice.

To become an FCP, recognition is required through Health Education England, whereby a clinician must have completed a taught or portfolio route.

FCPs refer patients to GPs for the medical management of patient presentations and pharmacology outside their agreed scope of practice.

FCPs work at master’s level in their clinical pillar of practice but have not yet reached an advanced level in all four pillars of practice to be verified at AP level across all four pillars.

The clinician must typically have 3-5 years post preceptorship experience before starting primary care training to become an FCP.

What is Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. Physiotherapy is a science-based degree healthcare profession and takes a “whole person” approach to health and wellbeing, which includes a patient’s general lifestyle.

What do Physiotherapists do?

Physiotherapists help people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice.

A patient’s involvement in their own care is vital and Physiotherapists support this through education, awareness, empowerment and participation.

Physiotherapists use their knowledge and skills to improve a range of conditions associated with different systems of the body.

FCP Physiotherapists in primary care

FCP Physiotherapists are an integral part of the GP Practice team. Many MSK FCP’s are physiotherapists with enhanced skills who can help patients with musculoskeletal issues by assessing and diagnosing issues, giving expert advice on how best to manage conditions and being able to refer on to specialist services if necessary. An FCP Physiotherapist in primary care works differently to a physiotherapist in other settings.

FCP Physiotherapists in GP Practices make it easier for patients to see a specialist with quicker access to diagnosis and treatment, helping them to recover faster and manage their conditions more effectively so that they can get back to normal life more quickly. They are trained to triage patients and decide on the treatment plan, this might include advice, onward referral for investigations, or initiation of treatment.