Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) response
to Healthcare Commission Inpatient Survey
16 May 2007
This survey is encouraging but we are
concerned by findings which show that on discharge, almost half of
patients were not given any information about the side effects of
their medication, and that only 39 per cent were fully informed of
what danger signals to look out for.
Professor Mayur Lakhani,
Chair of the RCGP, says: “As a practising GP I see frequent
examples of botched discharges with patients not given essential
information and support. We would urge that strong action be taken
to eliminate this.
“I am pleased to see that
more patients have reported receiving copies of letters between
their hospital doctors and their GP, as it is very important that
the patient is involved in decisions about their treatment.
“The Healthcare
Commission’s methodology is to be commended and should continue to
be more searching so that patients’ interests are protected.”
Ends
For more information please contact
Lorna Fletcher in the RCGP Press Office 020 7344 3136 / press@rcgp.org.uk
For more information on this survey please
visit the
Healthcare Commission website