Ancillary

Publication of "Prevention and the Primary Care Team" (report of Joint working party with Royal College of Nursing Society of Primary Health Care Nurses)

Publication of The Work of Counsellors in General Practice

Health Promotion Seminarattended by a multidisciplinary group representing general practitioners, nurses, facilitators and managers

Establishment of Commission on Primary Care to develop the team approach to patient care through multidisciplinary learning. The membership of the Commission covered the disciplines of general practice, nursing, health visiting, social work, practice management, and osteopathy as well as carers and patients. The Commission funded regionally-based fellowships to promote multi-professional caring in the areas of care of people with physical disabilities, mental health problems, long tem illnesses, learning difficulties, care of children, the elderly and care of carers of the elderly.

Alliance of Primary Care -a group comprising of nine organisations: the Association of Health Centre and Practice Administrators, the Centre for the Advancement of Inter-professional Education, the Carers National Association, the General Medical Services Committee, the Health Visitors Association, the National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts, The. Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives. The aims of the group was to act as a forum to foster improved relations between member bodies and to help all parts of primary care speak authoritatively with a single voice to government and other organisations.

Joint working party with Royal College of Radiologists publish updated guidelines for access to radiological services by general practitioners including basic ultrasound training for GP's..

RCGP/RCN/DoH Tripartite Fellowships to promote inter-professional education for nurses and doctors and included a nurse practitioner lecturer and a general practitioner educationalist.

The Role of Counsellors in General Practice Occasional Paper 74 by Bonnie Sibbald, Julia Addington-Hall, Douglas Brenneman and Paul Freeling. This report is of work carried out at St George’s Hospital Medical School, which aim to appraise counselling services and how they are perceived by counsellors and GPs.

Near Patient Testing Study Day "Supporting a Primary Care Led NHS - the Role of the investigative professions"

Clinical Guidelines for the Management for Acute Back Pain published with contributions by RCGP, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Osteopathic Association of Great Britain, British Chiropractic Association, National Back Pain Association

"Clinical Guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes - Prevention and Management of of Foot Problems" Written in Association with the British Diabetic Association, The Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing

"Opthalmology for General Practice Trainees" produced in conjunction with the Royal College of Opthalmologists as part of the vocational training statement series.

Counsellors in Primary Careby John Mellor-Clark. [Occasional paper 79]

Publication of UK Guidance on Best Practice in Vaccine Administration [Endorsed by RCGP; RCN; Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association; British Travel Health Association; Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners]

Joint statement with Royal College of Radiologists - "Radiology and the Patients of GP's"

A new blue and white policy statement – Major Incidents and Disasters – the role of the GP and the primary health care team published in hard copy and in CD-ROM format.

Launch of newsletter on patient safety aimed at primary care staff  entitle "In Safer Hands" a joint publication of the Quality Unit and the National Patient Safety Agency

The Future of General Practice- policy statement "The future GP, at the heart of a thriving multidisciplinary team, will be a clinician and a medical generalist, with continuing important roles as a gatekeeper, and as an advocate for patients... while many tasks in primary care can be appropriately delegated, the role of the generalist doctor is more important than ever. The more complicated the world becomes, the more the GP will be needed. The challenge for the future is to ensure that organisational change supports the development of practices and the medical generalist. In this way, the current situation of overcrowding in out patient departments and inappropriate use of secondary care can be minimised..."