IN MY VIEW... We must now prioritise continuity of care

ONE of the fundamental principles of good medicine is continuity of care — an idea first expounded more than 100 years ago by William Osler, a Canadian physician who spent much of his career as a professor of medicine at the University of Oxford.

He is celebrated for many aspects of his wisdom and teaching, with one memorable phrase being, ‘it is much more important to know what sort of patient has a disease than what sort of disease a patient has’.

Osler recognised even then that a long-term relationship between a patient and a GP is an essential requirement for providing effective care.

Readers of this page will be familiar with my frequently expressed regret that continuity of care — where a patient is looked after over the long-term by one doctor — has been seriously compromised by the changes in general practice.

Just why it matters so much was eloquently illustrated by a recent study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, which showed that seeing the same GP for more than 15 years reduces the risk of needing a hospital admission by a massive 28 per cent.

Re-establishing continuity-ofcare and ensuring that every patient has the opportunity to always see their named GP in a timely way, should they wish, must be a priority.

While the Government is to be applauded for its efforts announced last week to improve the number of face-to-face consultations, more must be done to ensure continuity of care. And central to that is getting us more GPs.

As I’ve said before, don’t hold your breath.