The RCGP carefully selects a number of clinical areas to join its Clinical Priority Programme. The programme aims to raise the profile and increase awareness of important or underrepresented clinical areas in primary care.
We work collaboratively with external partners to plan, implement and review the impact of innovative programmes of work to help GPs and fellow primary healthcare professionals to improve the quality of care for patients. We deliver a range of outputs including e-Learning, resource toolkits, national and regional events, video case studies and publications.
Hearing impairment can have a major impact on daily functioning and quality of life. It can affect communication, social interactions and work leading to loneliness, emotional distress and depression. The RCGP is collaborating with Action on Hearing Loss and NHS England and Improvement to create resources to educate GPs and trainees on Deafness and hearing loss to help reduce variations in accessibility to GP practices and ensure Deafness and hearing loss are considered across all aspects of primary care activity including consultations and continued care.
- Clinical Champion: Dr Devina Maru
Multimorbidity encapsulates the challenges of generalist care. The project aim is to understand barriers to offering holistic chronic disease care (compared to single disease QOF-led care) and to showcase examples of effective practice. This will include assessing ways for blood test monitoring to be streamlined and how work can be shared across the multidisciplinary primary care team.
- Clinical Champion: Dr Rachel Pryke
Working with Marie Curie as a key stakeholder, the focus of this work is to promote and enable high quality care for people nearing the end of their life, based on their needs and preferences. Through strategic development to improve provision, and ensuring that patient preferences and choices form the basis for end of life care approaches, this project will raise the profile of End of Life care, consolidating the work already undertaken and building for the future.
- Clinical Champion: Dr Catherine Millington-Sanders
- Clinical Support Fellow: Dr Rachael Marchant
The RCGP Secure Environments Group (SEG) recognises the need to improve the consistency of safe clinical practice in secure settings and with the support of NHS England, have initiated this Healthcare in Secure Environments clinical spotlight project. The project will take the form of a series of championed and carefully communicated guidelines focussing on key areas of clinical practice to enhance safety, security and reduction in avoidable death and illness in the prison population. By improving and better addressing the mental health, physical health and substance misuse needs of this patient group we will be benefiting the health and wellbeing of people in contact with the criminal justice system both inside prison and on release.
- Clinical Champion: Dr Caroline Watson
Mental Health
This five-year enduring priority focusses on increasing recognition of the vital role primary care plays in the management of mental illness and ensuring that primary care colleagues can provide high quality mental health care. The project is developing education and training with a focus on developing listening skills and the promotion of multi-disciplinary training. The Mental Health Priority is also addressing the GP curriculum, core skills and personal development plans.
Clinical Champion: Dr Elizabeth England
Clinical Support Fellow: Dr Faraz Mughal
Clinical Support Fellow: Dr Nadia Llanwarne
View our Mental Health Toolkit
This project is delivered in partnership with the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK and the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. The project is working to empower GPs to provide evidence-based information and, where appropriate, interventions to improve patient’s lifestyles. We are developing a toolkit of resources for GPs, CCGs and patients around Physical Activity and Lifestyle and are working with key stakeholders to promote the benefits of increased physical activity and highlight the links to reductions in prevalence of related diseases.
Clinical Champion: Dr Zoe Williams
Clinical Champion: Dr Andrew Boyd
Clinical Support Fellow: Dr Dane Vishnubala
View our Physical Activity and Lifestyle Toolkit
Sepsis
The Sepsis Clinical Priority, in partnership with Health Education England raises awareness of Sepsis and the appropriate action GPs could have an impact upon this condition, reducing the burden for the individuals, their families and the wider NHS. The Sepsis Priority is also exploring the impact of the forthcoming new international sepsis definitions, the NCEPOD report into Sepsis, and NICE Guideline and Quality Standard on Sepsis. The project will also encourage the coordination of GPs, ambulance and secondary service in delivering assessment and treatment of possible sepsis, as well as input into public messaging on the illness.
Clinical Champion: Dr Simon Stockley
Clinical Support Fellow: Dr Rachel Marsden
View our Sepsis Toolkit
The Syncope Project works to improve the wellbeing of patients with syncope though improved detection, assessment and management of patients with syncope, syncopal falls and orthostatic intolerance in primary care. The goal is to reduce misdiagnosis and improve cost-effective and appropriate investigation and referral patterns.
- Clinical Champion: Dr Lesley Kavi
We've partnered with Public Health England to produce the TARGET Antibiotics Toolkit to provide relevant resources and guidance to support GPs and primary healthcare professionals to improve the quality of life and care for patients and encourage safe, effective, appropriate and responsible antibiotic prescribing.
A woman’s life-course from menarche, through her reproductive years to menopause and beyond is a normal process but is different for each woman requiring holistic individual assessment, management and support. The Women’s Health project has produced clinical resources to represent the needs of women at different stages of their lives, while recognising that there is much overlap. The three sections are reproductive health, menstrual wellbeing, menopause and beyond. Each section includes resources for healthcare professionals, women and commissioners to help optimize the care provided and to support women to make choices about self-care and management.
- Clinical Champion: Dr Anne Connolly