Getting the most from your GP practice
30 August 2011
A “one stop shop” guide to help patients get
the most from their GP practice is launched today by the Royal
College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
It’s Your Practice: A
patient guide to GP services is available
free of charge and gives patients a diverse range of useful
information - from choosing and registering with a surgery and
understanding the different services that are available, through to
making appointments and getting the most from your
consultation.
As well as being available from the RCGP website, it has been
taken up by NHS Choices, the online information service that helps
to put patients in control of their healthcare.
Other sections provide clear guidance on how patients can access
their health records; patient rights and responsibilities and how
to can get involved in the running of your practice.
The differences in GP services across the four nations are
highlighted, along with links to other organisations including the
Citizens Advice Bureau and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers who
can also provide support for patients.
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical
Director, said: “Primary care is the backbone of our NHS,
but no two GP practices are the same. This guide will help
people understand how primary care works so they can engage with
and get the most from a practice of their choice.”
Antony Chuter, Chair of the Patient Partnership Group at
the RCGP, said “I’m delighted the College has produced
this resource for patients. It's an essential step-by-step guide to
GP services in the UK.”
Dr Clare Gerada, RCGP Chair, said: “This
guide sums up our philosophy of GPs working in partnership with
patients to improve health. Patients tell us they want to know how
to get more involved. They want to know how to prepare for
consultations; who does what and who they should be asking to see.
I hope it will prove to be a very useful resource for patients
across the UK.”
Deborah El-Sayed, Director of NHS Choices, said
“ This guide is a really useful resource. Providing people with
clear and accessible information that allows them to make the most
of their GP services is so important. As the guide been produced by
patients and GP’s working together, the advice is relevant, easy to
understand and gives great examples of good practice.”
It’s Your Practice: A
patient guide to GP services is available
on NHS Choices and the RCGP website. Plans are to make the
resource as widely available as possible. To link to the
document from your website please email sashmore@rcgp.org.uk.
Ends
FURTHER INFORMATION
RCGP Press office - 020 3188 7576/7575/7574
Out of hours: - 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
The publication is part of a bigger push by the RCGP to encourage
patients to understand how they can get the most out of primary
care – which also includes how they can become more involved in
monitoring their own health.
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of over
42,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work
to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical
practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training,
research and clinical standards.