IN MY VIEW . . . DOCTORS NEED TO TALK MORE

THE need to communicate well with patients is something that’s drummed into doctors and nurses from the start. Yet when it comes to talking to each other, the medical profession seems to have lost its way, and it’s having a deleterious effect on patient care.

When I was a junior hospital doctor in the Seventies, it was not unusual to see a GP on the ward round when we discussed their patient.

They would talk about the care of the patient with the consultants, who they often knew personally — indeed, they would write referral letters directly to hospital colleagues whom they knew, trusted and respected. This easy communication ensured better, prompt and appropriate care. But with the arrival of the internal market, promoted by Ken Clarke during his tenure as Minister of State for Health, the referral process was hijacked by management.

This slowed down treatment and contributed to longer waiting lists. Rather than call a hospital colleague for advice, GPs had to refer the patient via a letter.

So I read with astonishment about a scheme being spearheaded by a GP practice in Belfast, where direct relationships are being set up with local consultants whom the GPs can call for advice and discussion of referrals — airing problems that may or may not need specialist involvement, for instance, or to clarify investigation arrangements.

The practice introduced the scheme because the GPs realised patient care was suffering through a lack of good and easy communication with hospital colleagues. It has resulted in the speeding up of patient treatment. My astonishment was directed at the fact they are calling this ‘new’.

I do not accept that the growth of the population and greater pressures on time means more practices cannot revert to this approach. It is a system that didn’t only work — it worked well.