The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) was introduced in 2019 to support the expansion and introduction of new roles into general practice. It is the most significant investment into the general practice workforce. The value of the investment sum increases annually and incrementally over five years from 2019 to 2024.
The investment is to allow Primary Care Networks to build additional workforce within primary care and includes a wide range of roles such as clinical pharmacists, social prescribing link workers, care coordinators, physician associates and more.
The workforce hub provides information about the roles available, what training and development they require and the key competencies and experience individuals will need to work in primary care.
Full details to support recruiting to ARRS roles are outlined in the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) Toolkit published by the Manchester ARRS Oversight Group, October 2021.
Additional ARRS resources are available to download from this online public library.
Who’s who at your GP practice: public campaign to support understanding of ARRS roles
‘Who’s who at your GP practice’ is a public campaign developed by NHS Greater Manchester, in partnership with Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board, to raise awareness of the variety of roles supported through ARRS that form part many GP practices.
A communications toolkit and assets for phase one of the campaign, launched in June 2023, can be downloaded on our website.
Phase two assets, launched in November 2023, are also available to download on our website. Phase two broadens the scope of the campaign, by including more professionals working in a wider range of roles, which were not covered in phase one.
What ARRS roles are available?
The roles available under the ARRS scheme are:
- Adult mental health practitioner
- Advanced practitioner
- Care coordinator
- Children and young people’s mental health practitioner
- Clinical / senior pharmacist
- Dietician
- Digital and transformation lead
- First contact physiotherapist
- General practice assistant
- Health and wellbeing coach
- Nursing associate / trainee nursing associate
- Occupational therapist
- Paramedic
- Pharmacy technician
- Physician associate
- Podiatrist
- Social prescribing link worker
Further resources and links, including a quick reference summary of all the ARRS roles can be found on the NHS England website.
Podcast: What does the future of primary care look like?
In this episode of the Primary Care Knowledge Boost Podcast, Dr Lisa Adams and Dr Sara MacDermott are joined by Dr Ali Lea, Clinical Director of Primary Care Workforce, and Lesley Royle-Pryor, Primary and Community Nurse Lead at NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care, to discuss the new roles in primary care and the development of existing roles in general practice.
The plans for Primary Care Workforce Transformation are summed up by the phrase ‘making sure we have the right team to deliver the best care looking after people in the right way for them’. This means the primary care team that cares for patients in general practice settings is becoming more multi-professional and able to provide a wider range of services.
Podcast: The role of the social prescribing link worker
In this episode, we highlight the vital work of our social prescribing link workers.
Social prescribing link workers are trained to identify and support all those non-medical reasons why a person might be experiencing a dip in their general health and wellbeing.
Nicola Spiby-Roberts, the Social Prescribing Operations Manager at Wellbeing Matters in Salford, and Charlotte Leonhardsen, who leads on social prescribing within NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care, explain how social ills, such as loneliness or poverty, can’t be fixed by doctors or medicine, but can be helped by local activities or services.
Podcast: Social prescribing for children and young people
This podcast focuses on those who specifically help children and young people to access health and wellbeing services in their community; a key area of need given the increasing issues relating to the mental wellbeing of our younger people that are regularly spotlighted.
Charlotte Leonhardsen is joined by Rosie Luery, Young Person Social Prescribing Link Worker, and Joseph Campbell, Young Person Pathway Team Leader. Both Rosie and Joe are from Be Well, the social prescribing service for Manchester.
