GENERAL PRACTITIONER AND THE GENERAL HOSPITAL

Communications between general practitioners and consultants

During 1972-3 a survey was made of the pattern of communication between 80 consultants in four hospitals in south-east England and 100 general practitioners in the catchment areas of these hospitals. This aimed to identify the factors which affect the efficiency of communication between these two groups and to look for ways of improving this.Face to face contact between consultants and general practitioners was extremely limited. The main communication links were the letters of referral and discharge, but even this form of communication had serious defects. Though most doctors were satisfied with communications in general the evidence suggested ways of improving communication between consultants and general practitioners, such as encouraging domiciliary visits where both doctors are present and consultant sessions in health centres, but that any innovation in this field could only be successful if the attitude of the consultants and general practitioners were in harmony with the new venture.

Future role of the general practitioner in the hospital service

A special subcommittee of the General Practitioner Liaison Committee of the Birmingham Regional Hospital Board used five attitude surveys of groups of general practitioners and a comprehensive study of other publications to determine the future role of the general practitioner in the hospital service.From these and other studies they concluded that, although not all general practitioners wished to participate in hospital work, there was an urgent need to provide suitable facilities and a proper career structure early after qualification for those who did, and that there should be hospital inpatient accommodation in which general practitioners can treat their own patients, preferably in association with consultant beds rather than in separate general-practitioner units.