'Train NHS staff' to plug doctor gaps

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Nurses, paramedics and pharmacists should be trained to fill in for doctors and help the NHS in England cope with demand, bosses say.

Management body NHS Employers has given the plan the green light after advisers said there were a range of extra tasks they could do with more training.

A Nuffield Trust review found examples of nurses filling in for hospital doctors and pharmacists for GPs.

But unions warned against using it as a quick fix for problems in the NHS.

It has been well documented that there are gaps in junior doctor rotas, while GPs are struggling to cope with the rising number of patients coming through their doors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36307661