Ten-point plan to improve out-of-hours services

Doctors' leaders are publishing a ten-point plan which they believe could make it easier for patients to seek out-of-hours (OOH) services.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has produced the plan to address concerns that services are too confused and fragmented and to improve patient confidence in the system.

RCGP chairman Professor Mayur Lakhani said that GPs were being "blamed unfairly for the state of out-of-hours services", although the responsibility for commissioning and providing OOH services actually resides with primary care trusts (PCTs).

"Nonetheless we acknowledge that this has been a difficult issue for the profession and that many GPs agonised over their decision to opt out of 24-hour contractual responsibility," he continued.

"PCTs must make efforts to engage and involve GPs in out of hours care; some PCTs have already managed to do this effectively," the chairman added.

The plan includes recommendations for ways in which urgent care services could be improved and calls for care to be configured around the needs of patients, with better signposting for access.

Ailsa Donnelly, who chairs the RCGP Patient Partnership Group, said that clear signposting to appropriate OOH care was "essential" and added that the plan would go "a long way towards demystifying the maze that currently exists".

Source material - Royal College of General Practitioners 

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