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General Practitioners
(GPs) work in the "Primary Care" sector
- usually for Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). PCTs
are groups of primary care providers which may
include several GP surgeries, a clinic and other
healthcare professionals such as an Optician or
Pharmacist.
 PCTs
advise relevant health authorities on their purchasing
of health care and are increasingly assuming the
responsibility for the purchasing of healthcare
from the secondary healthcare providers (acute/hospital
and community/mental health trusts). In a shake-up
in the way that health care funding is allocated,
PCTs will in time, hold over 75% of the NHS budget,
according to the Secretary of State speaking in
April 2002.
General Practice is an essential part of medical
care in all countries. The general practitioner
is the first point of contact for most medical
services. The bulk of the work is carried out
during consultations in the surgery and during
home visits. General Practice allows individual
doctors a wide choice of where to practice, with
whom and how.
General Practitioners provide a complete spectrum
of care within the local community: dealing with
problems that often combine physical, psychological
and social components. They increasingly work
in teams with other professions, helping patients
to take responsibility for their own health.
They attend patients in surgery and primary care
emergency centres if clinically necessary, visit
their homes and will be aware of and take account
of physical, psychological and social factors
in looking after their patients.
General Practitioners call on an extensive knowledge
of medical conditions to be able to assess a problem
and decide on the appropriate course of action.
They know how and when to intervene, through treatment,
prevention and education, to promote the health
of their patients and families.
The wide mix of General Practice is one of the
major attractions. There can be huge variation
in the needs of individual patients during a single
surgery. No other specialty offers such a wide
remit of treating everything from pregnant women
to babies and from mental illness to sports medicine.
Individual doctors may develop special interests
in diverse areas. General Practice gives the opportunity
to prevent illness and not just treat it.
There are opportunities to become involved in
hospital work (for example, as a clinical assistant),
in education of those training to be general practitioners
(course organisers and tutors) or in local issues
(for example on Local Medical Committees or on
the new Primary Care Groups).
Individual general practitioners can reach a
relatively high income early in their career and
it is one of the specialties most suited for part
time and flexible working.
Most General Practitioners are independent contractors
to the NHS. This independence means that in most
cases, they are responsible for providing adequate
premises from which to practise and for employing
their own staff.
Personal qualities should include:
· Ability to care about patients and their
relatives
· A commitment to providing high quality
care
· Awareness of ones own limitations
· Ability to seek help when appropriate
· Commitment to keeping up to date and
improving quality of ones own performance
· Appreciation of the value of team work
· Clinical competence
· Organisational ability
For further information on this specialty, please
contact:
Royal College of General Practitioners
14 Princes Gate
Hyde Park
London
SW7 1PU
Tel: 0207 581 3232
Email: info@rcgp.org.uk
Website: www.rcgp.org.uk
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