The NHS is failing to offer sufficient out-of-hours GP care for severely ill patients, experts have said.
Existing services are "inadequate and inflexible" and there is a need for better diagnostic facilities, the Royal College of Physicians taskforce said.
The group also said hospital care needed to be redesigned for those with non-life threatening life conditions that none-the-less require treatment.
... The taskforce, which included a range of health professionals, looked at acute medical care."The status quo is not an option if we are to give these patients a consistently high standard of care"This includes the care of patients with respiratory problems or chest pains or complications linked to epilepsy or diabetes, which are not yet emergencies but could become so.
Professor Ian Gilmore -- Royal College of Physicians
The taskforce said poor standards of weekend and evening GP cover, which is now done by co-operatives of health professionals and private firms after family doctors were allowed to opt out in 2004, was forcing some patients to turn up at hospital for "reassurance".
Especially when you consider the fact that Brits seeking healthcare abroad is now 70,000 PER YEAR and will soon be 200,000 per year.
Don't let the Dems fool you.
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