The nature of general practice is changing, with one view of GPs as consultants supervising a multi-professional team while another view sees GPs specialising in particular areas of care such as frailty or urgent care. But this approach risks displacing the role of GPs as medical generalists whose professional training and long term, holistic knowledge of their patients enables them to provide high quality care for both acute and ongoing problems, delivering both urgent access and continuity of care. It also risks undermining GPs’ ability to safely manage ambiguous symptoms, and support NHS productivity by holding clinical risk in the community without onward referral to other services.
This meeting will explore how to retain these critical contributions and make best use of the GPs we have. It will consider:
- With too few GPs, and appointment demand outstripping capacity, where should GPs focus their effort? What is it that GPs do uniquely well, or that only a GP should do?
- How do we hold onto the skilled work GPs do in holding clinical risk in the community, and what are the implications for productivity within the NHS if we don’t?
- How can we support all GPs, including trainee GPs, to develop and retain skills in medical generalism, recognising that these are needed to improve quality and safety of care and crucial to NHS productivity in the future?
This is an invite only event to discuss the role of the GP in modern general practice, bringing together stakeholders from general practice, professional bodies, and national policy makers to explore key issues and implications for policy and practice.
If you would like to enquire about joining the roundtable please email events@nuffieldtrust.org.uk