RCGP calls for high quality patient care

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has published a manifesto outlining recommendations for ensuring future high quality patient care.

The report, Leading the Way: High Quality Care For All Through General Practice, contains proposals the RCGP says are "designed to produce a healthier society and promote healthier lifestyles" regardless of which political party wins the general election.

Longer consultation times and longer GP training are the key recommendations within the manifesto, which is split into: High-quality GP care for all; Care for patients closer to home; and Improving the health of the nation.

The RCGP is calling for:

· Longer training for GPs · Continued support for the development of GP 'Federations' · Better access to talking therapies · Better and faster access to diagnostic tests

· Better services for socially excluded groups.

Professor Steve Field, RCGP chairman, said: "Our health service faces a huge challenge: how to respond to reduced funding without reducing the quality of the services we provide, or the quality of the care our patients deserve. The RCGP is up for the challenge and is already leading the way in showing how high-quality, cost effective care can be available to all, based on clinical need and not an individual's ability to pay."

The manifesto can be downloaded from the RCGP website