primary healthcare

A report by Professor Dorothy Whittington and Kathryn Thompson of the Primary Care Research Group found, among other things, that one in three patients of doctors in north and west Belfast show signs of psychiatric disorder, and that conflicting IT systems at GP Practice, Health Trust and Health Board levels are undermining the accuracy and comparability of patient information, adversely affecting the authorities’ ability to plan for the area’s future healthcare needs.

The full 82-page report contains detailed statistical and qualitative information gathered over a period of two years by the team. One thousand and one patients in north and west Belfast were surveyed and a response rate 57.7% was achieved.

Immediate action
As a result of their work, the authors put forward a 12 point plan calling for immediate action to improve primary health care in north and west Belfast.

Professor Whittington said: “In the light of Minister Bairbre de Brun’s Building the Way Forward in Primary Care consultation document, this report underscores the need for detailed, local assessment of patient needs. GPs are uniquely well-placed for local planning but need the resources to carry it out.

“This report confirms what we had suspected high levels of disadvantage and related health problems in north and west Belfast. The level mental health needs was unexpectedly and worryingly high. We hope that the Minister, her officials, and the Health Board will now give urgent consideration to the early implementation of our recommendations.”

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