Help for carers

There is certainly much work to be done to recognise and address the unique set of problems experienced by this group in terms of their own health and wellbeing.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (Scotland) believes that effective and person- centred primary care can only be achieved by empowering patients to play a role in the management of their own health, and this issue will become increasingly important as we move towards the government’s integrated health and social care agenda.

In recognition of these needs, Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Scotland is working with the Princess Royal Trust for Carers to develop existing guidelines for Scottish GPs to help them direct carers to the invaluable services offered by carers’ centres across the country.

Similarly, we are working with the Scottish Association for Mental Health to encourage people to seek help with mental health problems earlier and to help GPs direct their patients to sources of local support in the community.

We are also involved in a project to develop a database of information and links that aim to improve access to information on support for self-management for the 40 per cent of Scots living with debilitating long- term conditions.

This wealth of activity underpins the commitment of general practice in Scotland to work with patients to improve their lives and wellbeing, and to support patients in being active participants in their own care, especially those who care for others.

GPs are at the front line in terms of patient care and are the gateway to secondary care; they are under pressure to retain vast amounts of information regarding the availability of non- clinical services, and RCGP Scotland works hard to support them in this difficult and demanding role.

(Dr) John Gillies

Royal College of General Practitioners (Scotland)

Ruth Gibb

Royal College of GPs (Scotland)

Queen Street

Edinburgh