Launch of the RCGP Manifesto

As you will have realised from my previous email, it’s been such a busy couple of weeks with our move from the College building in Princes Gate to Euston Road taking up a lot of thinking time.

In addition we have been working on our manifesto as a way of raising the profile of high-quality general practice and demonstrating once more that GPs are ready to lead and provide solutions for patients, the public and for our National Health Service. We are unashamedly trying to influence whichever party comes into power, in our four home countries.

Further details of how we will be using this – and how you can help us – to raise the profile of high quality general practice in the run up to the election will follow shortly but I wanted you to see it before we issue the press release today.

Our manifesto emphasises the important role of GPs and general practice in promoting the wider public health agenda and we will be using every opportunity to push this, as well as promoting the importance of high-quality care for all through general practice. It was debated at the last College Council and we had lots of suggestions and good ideas which we have tried to condense into the 16 main recommendations.

One of the main calls we make in the manifesto is for improved access to psychological/talking therapies.

Some of you will have seen Sunday’s Observer and BBC News bulletins on psychological therapies. The coverage is the direct result of the help you gave me a few weeks ago when I asked for your views on provision of psychological therapies in your area. Thank you for your support.

Many thanks for your responses – around 1200 of you took the time to reply by filling in the questionnaire and giving us details of what care is like in your locality. I am very grateful. I sent your anonymised comments to Professor Lord Richard Layard, Programme Director for Wellbeing at the London School of Economics, who is leading the campaign to improve access to mental health services for adults and children.

We worked closely with the journalist at the Observer and the news team at the BBC to make sure that we got our key messages across. It was a tricky one because I wanted to say something positive about how the Department of Health in England has invested in improving access to talking therapies while highlighting how the services on the ground vary in quality and in access.

You demonstrated that access for patients is not as good as our patients deserve. - less than 15% of those of you who responded said you could usually access appropriate psychological therapies for adults, with less than 10% saying the same for children. The volume and tone of your e-mails shows the frustration and anger you feel on behalf of your patients.

I tried in the press to assert the patient’s right to nationally-approved treatments, drugs and programmes, recommended by NICE for use in the NHS. I said that I believed that there needed to be better access to psychological therapies and welcomed the substantial investment that has been made over the last few years. I stated our full support for the campaign to ensure that adequate funding continues to go into training therapists, rolling out talking therapies across England and making provision for children.

Richard Layard did the economic analysis and he said: “Mental illness is perhaps the greatest single cause of misery in our country. For those who experience it, the least we should offer is the same standard of care we would automatically provide if they had a physical illness. Politicians who committed to this would receive a huge vote of thanks from millions of families in this country.”

I continue to assert that GPs and the College are willing to provide solutions and by backing the campaign to support mental health, I believe that we are not shying away from our responsibility to speak out with and on behalf of our patients. In this case by working closely with MIND, the RCPsych and other medical Royal Colleges.

We are making it a focus of our conversations with all of the three main political parties. I’m pleased to say that our efforts are having an impact as it seems to be resonating with them all. Our colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are also doing their bit to ensure that it's high on the agenda across the UK.

I'm planning to invite Lord Layard into the College over the next few weeks for a "policy breakfast" so please let me know if you'd be interested in attending.

Thanks again for all your support – your efforts are very much appreciated and I hope we can achieve some good on behalf of our patients and their families.

The Inclusion Health Report, and a trip to Buck House

It’s been an interesting fortnight – like most fortnights – with a lot of variety.

Last Thursday we hosted the launch of a landmark report, 'Inclusion Health', which looks at the role of primary care in addressing the needs of our socially disadvantaged and harder to reach groups.

New analysis by the Social Exclusion Taskforce in the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health in England shows that despite the progress we have made in healthcare, people such as the homeless, those with learning disabilities, people leaving prison and sex workers, are still finding it difficult to access the services they need, often with life limiting results.

My reasons for wanting to be a GP are the same today as when I was at school – I wanted to make a difference and help people less fortunate than myself. It’s something that’s really driven me throughout my career. Working in a particularly deprived area is so rewarding, but incredibly frustrating. We have lots of disadvantaged groups and I still feel we can do more to reach out and make sure we are providing the care they need and helping them live as long and healthy lives as possible.

We’ve acknowledged the need for clinical leadership and I’m delighted to have been asked to chair the new National Inclusivity Board. We need to think differently about disadvantaged groups and I’m determined that high quality general practice plays a key role in improving such poor outcomes.

Photograph © FreeFoto.com  

Last Wednesday will stand as one of the highlights of my career, and I was enormously humbled and honoured to go to Buckingham Palace to pick up my CBE. It was a wonderful day for both myself, and for my family, who came with me. I must confess that, although meeting the Queen is something that doesn’t happen every day, I was even more excited to meet ex-England football captain Jimmy Armfield, one of my childhood heroes. It’s difficult, when surrounded by people who have done so many great things for disadvantaged people, not to feel like a fraud collecting an honour, but this prize is not just for me, it’s recognition for the College, for Bellevue Medical Centre, and for all of us GPs, and the hard work we do every day.

Last week I was also summoned to give evidence to the Health Select Committee on the use of overseas doctors in providing out-of-hours services. The tragic case in Cambridgeshire served to highlight the unacceptable variance in OOH care across the country, and we must all work together to ensure that, regardless of where patients live, they can expect to receive a universally excellent quality of care from a competent doctor whether it’s day- or night time.

I had some fantastic trainees shadowing me last week, and once again I have been so impressed with the enthusiasm and willingness to learn demonstrated by our Associates in Training. I’ve been trying to reach out to the younger members and it’s been great to see so many take up my offer to spend a day at the college. What’s more, it’s fantastic having these keen, young doctors around, and so rewarding to give them an insight into the other side of general practice.

Thanks as always for your support. I value your opinions and feedback enormously, and I urge you to get in touch if you have any comments or questions for me.