‘Well-functioning primary health care teams cannot simply be
taken off the shelf’
NOVEMBER BJGP
The future of the NHS is likely to
depend on the future of general practice says Professor Roger Jones
FRCGP, Wolfson Professor of General Practice at King’s College
London, in an editorial in this month’s British Journal of
General Practice (BJGP:Vol 57:860-861)
Professor Jones was commenting on
the current Darzi review of the NHS and his recent report into
healthcare in London, which touched on the idea of large
centralised clinics in the capital.
Professor Jones notes that details
of these suggested clinics have yet to be released but urges that
the experience of GPs who contain costs in the NHS largely through
their gatekeeping role must not be underestimated.
‘It is essential that first contact
care is provided by trained primary care physicians’, writes
Professor Jones who also notes that ‘well-functioning primary
health care teams cannot simply be taken off the shelf’.
Professor Jones’ comments echo the
recommendations in the Royal College of General Practitioners’
(RCGP) recently launched document The Future Direction of General
Practice: A Roadmap, which cautions against the development of
larger clinics, instead advocating a new model of care which would
see federations of GP practices working in partnership to provide
more patient services closer to their homes.
Professor Jones’ editorial
‘Dismantling general practice’ can be found in the November issue
of the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP).
Ends
Press contact: RCGP Press Office,
press@rcgp.org.uk 020 7344
3135/3136//3137/3129
Notes to editors
Dismantling general practice by
Roger Jones British Journal of General Practice BJGP:Vol
57:860-86
The BJGP is published monthly and
distributed to over 30,000 RCGP members, associates, and
subscribers in more than 40 countries worldwide. Its primary
purpose is to publish first-rate, peer reviewed research papers on
topics relevant to primary care.
The Royal College of General
Practitioners (RCGP) is the largest membership organisation in the
United Kingdom solely for GPs. It aims to encourage and maintain
the highest standards of general medical practice and to act as the
“voice” of GPs on issues concerned with education, training,
research, and clinical standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has
over 30,000 members who are committed to improving patient care,
developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a
discipline. www.rcgp.org.uk