CQC Report on Managing Patients' Medicines - RCGP Response
27th October
2009
RCGP Chairman Professor Steve Field said:
“Quality, safe and seamless care should be the entitlement of all
our patients, regardless of where they live, which part of the
healthcare system they are accessing or who is providing their
care.
"We have long suspected that there are some
areas where this is not happening and the CQC report confirms
this.
Patients can feel especially vulnerable when
they are discharged from hospital and they need to be safe in the
knowledge that their GP is working with the most comprehensive and
accurate information available.
The RCGP has been calling for a long time for
a more joined-up approach between primary and secondary care. We
are working with a number of our specialist medical Royal Colleges
including the Royal College of Surgeons and with the Royal College
of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
on a project called Teams Without Walls to improve
communication and collaboration between hospital specialists and
GPs.
We agree with the CQC that it is important to
have complete information on medication when patients are moving
between services and that any changes to medication and care should
be discussed with the patient by a healthcare professional who is
familiar with them and their healthcare needs.
GPs should also be routinely reviewing new
medication with patients when they leave hospital and monitoring
and learning from significant events is an important part of a GP’s
working life.
Patients need to know that their best
interests are paramount on the both sides of the primary and
secondary care ‘fence’ and that we are working as a team to achieve
the best possible outcomes.”