Editorials

General practice at night

General practitioners' recent rejection of the government's proposals for out of hours care¹ and the heat of the debates at the midsummer conference of local medical committees² show that the issue has become a leading preoccupation for doctors. Yet out of hours services are not mentioned in the NHS Executive's Priorities and Planning Guidance for the NHS: 1996/7³ or in Renewing the NHS: Labour's Agenda for a Healthier Britain.⁴ No wonder general practitioners think that both politicians and senior managers are out of touch with their concerns.

Since 1948, general practitioners have assumed responsibility for the care of their patients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are not obliged to deliver all of that care themselves, but they are responsible for making sure that care is available, and many have no choice but to provide it themselves. . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Salisbury, C. (2000). The demand for out-of-hours care from GPs: a review. Fam Pract 17: 340-347 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Neuberger, J. (1998). Primary care: core values Patients' priorities. BMJ 317: 260-262 [Full text]  
• Greig, D. N H (1995). Service must change to deal with patients' reasonable demands. BMJ 311: 1028-1028 [Full text]  
• Shutkever, M. (1995). General practice at night. BMJ 311: 1027c-1028 [Full text]  
• Nair, R R (1995). GPs should be given breathing space to cope. BMJ 311: 1028b-1028 [Full text]  
• Thompson, M K. (1995). And fiinally, in the good old days... BMJ 311: 1028d-1028 [Full text]