The Future of General Practice:
A 10-year strategy
The
Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland (RCGP NI)
recognise that there have been many changes to our health care
service and yet more are needed to secure a vibrant and patient
focused general practice. General practice must remain at the
centre of our ever evolving health care system as we move forward
in to the future to ensure that patients receive the optimum
quality of care and value for money with the ultimate aim of
producing a better patient experience for everyone.
This is why Royal College of
General Practitioners Northern Ireland and the British Medical
Association (BMA) have worked together in producing a 10 year
strategy for the future of general practice. It is hoped that this
strategy will provide a pivotal role in shaping policy, education,
research and training for many years to come.
GPs, patient advocates and many key
stakeholders have worked together in producing a 10 year strategy
for general practice which will ensure that high standards are
maintained, that the profession is equipped with the adequate
resources and that the correct structures are put in place to
enhance the ability of general practice to tackle future
challenges.
To Obtain a copy of Dr
Johnston's speech and photographs from the launch click on the
following link:
Dr Johnston's
speech and photograph
To obtain a copy of the strategy,
please click on the following link:
The
Future of General Practice: 10 year strategy
To obtain a copy of the
'Information Guide' to the strategy, please click of the following
link:
The Future of General
Practice in Northern Ireland: A 10-year strategy
RCGP
and the BMA have also woked together in producing an
information leaflet aimed at increasing awareness of the profession
within the general public. 'You and Your GP' provides a useful look
at the relationship between patients and their GP, the role of a GP
and how general practice is organised throughout Northern
Ireland.
To obtain a copy of the
information leaflet, please click on the following link:
You and Your GP
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Dr David Johnston (Chairman Northern Ireland Council)
Dr Andrew McCormick (Permanant
Secretary Department of Health Social Services and Public
Safety)and Dr Brian Dunn(Chairman NIGPC)
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Launch of 10 Year Strategy: Stormont
The
Royal College of General Practitioners, Northern Ireland, in
partnership with the British Medical Association, has taken the
first unique step forward in mapping out a 10 year strategy
for general practice. After a number of consultations
with GPs, patient advocates and other medical professions, the
Royal College of General Practitioners in Northern Ireland is proud
to be leading the way in setting a clear, coherent strategy which
will provide general practice with the confidence, tenacity and the
vision to help build a patient centred healthcare service that is
fit for purpose in the 21st century.
The
document entitled ‘The Future of General Practice: A 10 Year
Strategy’ provides a strategic vision into how general practice can
tackle future challenges within our health care system, whilst
remaining focused on the future development of the profession. The
strategy is the first attempt to highlight the issues to all
concerned and offer solutions that will assist general practice and
therefore the whole health service to thrive rather than just
survive.
The
main body of the strategy is centred on a 10 year action plan which
will help deliver on many key challenges facing general practice.
The areas in which action must be taken include:
- Improving service
and accessibility
- Resourcing general practice
- Addressing educational and training needs for
general practice
- Monitoring the impact of medical regulations
arrangements
- Improving leadership and management effectiveness
within general practice
- Developing a framework for effective management of
general practice
- Identifying and addressing competition
issues
- Promoting the unique selling points of general
practice
- Work with Trust and Commissioners
- Improving organisation within the infrastructure
of general practice
Commenting on the need for
such a strategy Dr David Johnston, Chairman of the Northern Ireland
Council, advocated that,
“The strategy we are
launching today is timely. Against the backdrop of new political
structures and institutions, the review of public administration,
changing population demographics and resultant health needs and
expectations, not to mention professional regulation and governance
changes, GPs, more than ever, need a strategy which will make sense
of all the issues effecting general practice.”
The
document was officially launched at Stormont by Dr Andrew
McCormick, Permanent Secretary for the Department of Health Social
Services and Public Safety. Members and staff of the legislative
Assembly, GPs and associates from the voluntary sector, were very
well represented at the
event.
Speaking at the launch, Dr
David Johnston put forward the view that general practice has
reached a crossroads.
“We
can empower general practice, GPs can rise to the challenges ahead
and together we can build on all that has already been achieved or
we can retreat, each ploughing our own little furrow, busy doing
worthy things, no doubt, but never actually achieving our full
potential either individually or as a service. We would be
surviving but not thriving!”
Also
launched was an information leaflet for patients, outlining the
role of a GP, the services they may offer and how GPs coordinate
patient care. ‘You and Your GP’ strongly conveys the message to
patients that GPs deliver a very high quality
service,
provide great value for money and overall supply patients with an
excellent experience.
Guests in attendance left Stormont with the strong message that ‘if
we are all to move forward and genuinely improve patient care in
Northern Ireland we must recognise that general practice is not the
stumbling block but the solution.’
GPs
within Northern Ireland will receive a copy of both documents
including a number of information leaflets to display in their
practices.
For further information
please contact David Fry on david.fry@rcgp.org.uk