BMJ  2007;334:1019 (19 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39212.702708.3A

Letters

Older people in care homes

Role of primary care in improvement

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

McMurdo and Witham emphasise the role of secondary care in supporting primary care teams and care home staff in providing good quality care for older people in nursing and residential homes.1 As a general practitioner with responsibility for 50 patients with dementia in a specialist nursing home, I recognise that practical steps taken in primary care can have a major impact on the standard of care we offer to our patients.

Seven years ago I presented an alternative to the reactive ("firefighting") approach to patients in care homes to my partners. Since then we have taken personal responsibility for a care home each, managing the long term health issues of our patients and building constructive relationships with the staff and management at the six homes (142 patients) we look after.

Auditing the factors affecting emergency admissions of patients from care homes has also allowed me to challenge the approach of . . . [Full text of this article]

Gillie E Evans, general practitioner

Jenner Health Centre, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire PE7 1EJ

gillie.evans@nhs.net


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Relevant Article

Health and welfare of older people in care homes
Marion E T McMurdo and Miles D Witham
BMJ 2007 334: 913-914. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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