Advanced clinical practitioners in general surgical departments in the UK: a scoping review

Background: The introduction of advanced clinical practitioners was initiated by the wider reform of the NHS workforce to help meet the increasing pressure on the NHS. There are currently no reviews exploring the evidence surrounding advanced clinical practitioners within general surgery. Aim: This scoping review comprehensively identifies and maps existing knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of advanced clinical practitioners within general surgery in the UK. Methods: A comprehensive search of CINAHL, EMBASE, EMCARE, MEDLINE and PubMed was performed for published literature. This was supplemented by searching Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, The British Library, The King's Fund and Google Scholar for unpublished sources. Findings: The review revealed an insight into the roles and responsibilities of advanced clinical practitioners and their impact on patient care and experience. The literature highlighted role ambiguity, with role definition being a barrier to success. Conclusions: There is limited research exploring the roles and responsibilities of advanced clinical practitioners within general surgery and their impact on patient care and experience. Primary research is indicated to explore how incorporating advanced clinical practitioners in surgery impacts pathways of care and patient outcomes.