HC Deb 11 June 1974 vol 874 cc510-2W
Mr. Roy Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she has received a report from the Joint Working Party on General Medical Services; and if she will make a statement.

Dr. Owen

The report is published today and a copy has been placed in the Library. The report is on sale at Her Majesty's Stationery Office under the title "General Medical Services; Report of the Joint Working Party 1973", price 45p.

The joint working party was set up in December 1972 under the chairmanship of Sir George Godber, then Chief Medical Officer of the Department. Members of the working party were drawn from the Department, the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners, but the report does not necessarily represent the views of these bodies.

The main subjects considered in the report are appointment systems, deputizing arrangements and diagnostic support services for general practice. I am grateful to the working party for the valuable work it has done in bringing to the notice of the Department, the profession and the public a number of ways in which the general practitioner services might be improved. Many of the suggestions in the report are matters for consideration by individual practitioners, and the report is being sent to all general medical practitioners in England and Wales and to local medical committees. I have also arranged for copies to be sent to the appropriate health service authorities and to community health councils and national nursing organizations.

I endorse in general the view of the working party that local co-operation between the professions and health service authorities should help to secure improvements in the areas studied in the report. I also intend to look for ways in which the Department, with the agreement and co-operation of the professional and administrative bodies concerned, can help doctors to improve their services in ways indicated by the report without encroaching on their professional responsibilities. In particular, we shall be considering the recommendations concerned with the training and guidance of receptionists, guidance on the use of appointment systems, increasing the effectiveness of deputizing arrangements and improved access to diagnostic services.