02:33
Tieng Anh Vui
Elderly people often feel there is no reliable alternative to hospital, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said, as he called for improved care from GPs.
Changes brought in by the previous Labour government had created a system in which it was now "easier to go to A&E and harder to go and see a GP," Mr Hunt wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
"A&E staff [now] know some patients better than their own GPs," he wrote.
Mr Hunt said he would outline changes to address the issue later.
The Telegraph reported ministers would seek to negotiate a new employment contract for doctors, obliging them to do more to oversee the treatment of older patients.
Labour has yet to respond to his comments.
'Keep tabs'
Mr Hunt said GPs needed to do more to supervise elderly people's care and treatment in other parts of the NHS.
"We need a much better way for vulnerable old people to journey through the NHS," he wrote.
"They need someone from the service to be keeping tabs on them and championing them through the system all the time - and making sure they're a name, not a number, whether or not they are in hospital.
"As a member of the public I would like that responsible person to be my GP - but of course they will need support from many others, including our dedicated district nurses."
Mr Hunt said GPs should also be involved in the care of those in care homes.
"We also need to remove the cracks between the NHS and social care systems," he wrote.
"GPs can't champion patients through the system unless they can work closely with care homes. Earlier this year we launched a £3.8bn merger of the NHS and social care systems to enable this to happen."
He referred to changes by the last government that he said had undermined links between patients and their doctors.
"Since the last government's misguided changes to the GP contract, it's become easier to go to A&E and harder to go and see a GP. In fact, we've got to a point where A&E staff know some patients better than their own GPs," he wrote.
"Of course, GPs don't want it to be this way, and are themselves working harder than ever before. But sadly the 2004 contract changes undermined the personal link between them and their patients, as well as imposing a whole range of bureaucratic burdens.
"Labour's intentions, as ever, were good. But the effect was to make it harder for GPs to be family doctors and give them less time for patients."
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment