17 May 2007
Professor Mayur Lakhani, Chair of the Royal College of General
Practitioners (RCGP), says:
“There is no doubt that there have been major developments in
the speed of access to primary care and the quality of clinical
care as evidenced by the results in large scale patient surveys and
the quality and outcomes framework declarations.
“As a practising GP, I know that patients remain concerned about
the arrangements for care at in evenings, nights and at weekends
and I suspect this is what Mr Brown is reflecting.
“I do not think that this is an issue that can be ignored as it
is important that the NHS is responsive to the legitimate clinical
needs of patients. In some areas Primary Care Trusts working with
GP practices have made an important difference to their patients by
improving out of hours services. We can tackle this problem and it
is essential that GPs are given the opportunity and support to
lead, influence and devise local schemes that improve quality,
access and continuity of care.”
Ends