GP staff are running food banks and giving advice on dealing with poverty

GPs, primary care staff, and schoolteachers are all taking on additional roles to help people deal with poverty related problems, according to new research.A survey has found that general practices, community healthcare settings, and primary schools are spending time and money to help people affected by poverty including providing food banks and advice on problems with housing and benefits.The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a charity that works towards solving poverty, published a report1 on 17 June looking at the impact of hardship on primary schools and primary and community healthcare.The research focused on staff based in 15 GP surgeries and 15 primary school in the bottom 40% most deprived areas in England and Scotland, followed by focus groups, and a survey of 504 primary and community healthcare workers and 515 education workers from areas of all levels of deprivation around the UK.Staff at GP surgeries said some appointments were being used…
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