BMA press releases archive

A range of issues were debated by family doctors today, Sunday 25 March 2012, at the Annual Northern Ireland Local Medical Committee conference, to try to agree a way forward to improve care for patients.

(issued by BMA Northern Ireland Sunday 25 Mar 2012)

GPs can help reduce Accident and Emergency Waiting Times

Family doctors across Northern Ireland today (Sunday, 25 March 2012) expressed their frustration at not being able to directly refer acutely ill patients to hospital without having to go via A&E.

Larne GP, Dr Brian Dunn said, “GPs are often best placed to decide when a patient needs admission and we should be allowed to admit acutely ill patients directly to hospitals negating the need for retrograde triage at A&E.”

Newry GP Dr Arnie McDowell added, “overflowing A&E departments could be reduced by allowing GPs to assess acutely ill patients in the community as they have successfully done for many years, to decide whether or not they need admission to hospital.”

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Proper planning is essential to ensuring the success of the implementation of the Compton Review

This was the clear message from the conference of family doctors today (Sunday, 25 March 2012).

Dr Brian Patterson, Antrim based GP said,

“The key to the success of implementing the Compton Review requires the engagement of doctors in both primary and secondary care”.

“It is important that additional work in primary care is adequately resourced and the process is managed to ensure the stability of general practice and patient safety is maintained”

“Currently the GMS contract, does not allow for the expansion of the GP workforce or infrastructure. If we are to achieve the aspirations of the Review it is important to find a way of doing so that does not compromise the contract”,

He added, “Proper planning and agreement is essential for patient safety”.
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General Practice is under increasing pressure doctors say

Concerns were raised about the use of GP services at the conference of family doctors today (Sunday, 25 March 2012).

Dr David Ross, a GP based in Saintfield said,

“There is an insufficient emphasis and promotion of the importance of self-care for self-limiting illness. We need to work together with other organisations such as the Public Health Agency to educate the public on the appropriate use of out of hours services”.

Dr Ross added,

“I have watched with increasing uneasiness as to how GP work in and out of hours is changing.

“Genuine, urgent, cases are therefore being delayed and it is only a matter of time before significant harm comes to a patient who has had to wait to see an out of hours doctor”, he added.

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Proper planning is essential to ensuring the success of the implementation of the Compton Review

This was the clear message from the conference of family doctors today (Sunday, 25 March 2012).

Dr Brian Patterson, Antrim based GP said,

“The key to the success of implementing the Compton Review requires the engagement of doctors in both primary and secondary care”.

“It is important that additional work in primary care is adequately resourced and the process is managed to ensure the stability of general practice and patient safety is maintained”

“Currently the GMS contract, does not allow for the expansion of the GP workforce or infrastructure. If we are to achieve the aspirations of the Review it is important to find a way of doing so that does not compromise the contract”,

He added, “Proper planning, resourcing and agreement is essential for patient safety”.
Ends

Community nursing is an integral part of primary care.

This was the clear message from the conference of family doctors today (Sunday, 25 March 2012).

Derry based GP and Chair of NIGPC, Dr Tom Black highlighted the need for district nurses, midwives and health visitors to be attached to practices, saying “regular face to face contact is necessary” to enable doctors and their teams to deliver the best care for patients.

“It’s the informal discussions that take place in addition to the formal contacts between GPs and community nurses that ensures that concerns about vulnerable patients are raised and followed up”, he added.

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