Source: Primary Care Foundation
Date of Publication: March 2010
Publication type: Report
In a nutshell: This report, commissioned by the Department of Health, found that the increasing number of GPs and primary care nurses working in Emergency Departments can improve the quality of patient care. However, there is little evidence for claims that this approach drives down costs or avoids inappropriate hospital admissions.
The Foundation estimates that around half of the Emergency Departments across the country offer some sort of primary care service. The proportion of attendances that could be classified as primary care was between 10% and 30%. This contrasts with widespread assumptions that up to 60% of patients could be diverted to GPs or primary care nurses.
Length of publication: 102 pages
