02


• •


Welcome News


EXTEND GP TRAINING TO BOOST DEMENTIA SKILLS


Welcome to yourGP


IT’S BEEN five years since I graduated in medicine and I have just recently completed my general practice training. Like many other doctors in my position, I now face the daunting task of searching for regular work that will ultimately lead to a permanent position. The past five years have been such an enjoyable experience and, when I think about how I arrived at this point, it has much to do with my earlier life, when I grew up as a “son of the surgery”. My article on page 4recalls what it was like growing up surrounded by general practice. Your first GP appraisal can be a


daunting prospect but help is at hand from GP trainer Janice Oliver who offers some tips and techniques on page 5on how to prepare for this important milestone.


Assessing whether an adult


patient has the capacity to decide about their medical treatment can be challenging, but MDDUS medical adviser Dr Barry Parker offers


COVER PHOTO: © RICHARD ELSE


advice on page 6. Meanwhile, overcoming language barriers is the theme of our article on page 7 which looks at how doctors should treat patients who don’t speak English. The idea of discussing religion


with patients is a controversial one and is currently the subject of a case before the GMC. On page 12, MDDUS medical adviser Dr Susan Gibson-Smith discusses how to handle this sensitive issue. On page 10, we find out about the amazing achievements of ultramarathon runner and GP Dr Andrew Murray who has pushed himself to the limits in aid of charity and now hopes to help get the nation more active. Our careers article on page 8 looks at what’s involved in becoming a GP with a special interest in dermatology while the case study on page 14looks at a case of malaria misdiagnosis.


• Dr Peter Livingstone Editor


GP TRAINING should be extended to include sufficient training on treating dementia, according to a report by an influential group of MPs and peers. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia said the training


programme should be lengthened in line with other specialties because GPs lack the confidence and skills to effectively treat dementia. The group also recommended the introduction of ongoing specialist community training. Dementia treatment cost an estimated £20billion in 2010 and the


figure is expected to reach £27billion by 2018. But fewer than half of those with the condition are diagnosed, leaving many people to struggle without much-needed support, the report says. The report concluded: "The confidence and skills of some general


practitioners in recognising dementia continues to be inadequate. Increasing the length of GP training so that it is equivalent to other specialisms would allow for improved coverage of dementia within the GP curriculum." The Department of Health (DoH) has commissioned the RCGP to


produce a business case for Medical Education England on the extension of specific specialty training for general practice from a minimum of three years to a possible five. This extension was recommended in the Tooke Report on the Independent Inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers (Aspiring to Excellence). The submission date for the RCGP is December 2011 and it is


expected the DoH will make a decision on the issue sometime in 2012. The RCGP is keen to hear any views about the initiative via email at reviewofspecialtytraining@rcgp.org.uk


EDITOR: Dr Peter Livingstone


CONTENT EDITOR: Dr Susan Gibson-Smith


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


DESIGN:


CMYK Design www.cmyk-design.co.uk


PRINT: arc colourprint www.arccolour.co.uk


CORRESPONDENCE: GPST Editor MDDUS Mackintosh House 120 Blythswood Street Glasgow G2 4EA


t: 0845 270 2034 e: gpst@mddus.com w: www.mddus.com


GPST is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.


CQC REGISTRATION FOR GP PRACTICES SET FOR 2013


GP PRACTICES in England will have to register with the Care Quality Commission by April 2013, the Department of Health has confirmed. Registration had originally been scheduled for April 2012 and will now be delayed for one year. GP leaders campaigned recently for it to be introduced even later than 2013 to avoid clashing with the introduction of revalidation and GPs assuming responsibility for commissioning. In their response to the


consultation, the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC)


said: “We have concerns about the capacity of the CQC to manage the registration and compliance of all primary medical services providers from April 2013, and would suggest that consideration is given to a more flexible approach.”


But the DoH said registration


with the CQC would go ahead in April 2013, as set out in its consultation proposals published in June. Out of hours providers that are not GP practices looking after their own patients will still be expected to register with the CQC by April 2012.


PHOTO: PAUL GRAHAM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16