Royal College of General Practitioners
Other
Noted
The Royal College of General Practitioners acknowledges the concerns, describes its role in GP training and standards, and references existing curriculum and resources related to cardiovascular disease and sudden adult cardiac death. It supports joint working to raise awareness among GPs and has consulted the British Heart Foundation. (AI summary)
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Dear Ms Kearsley Regulation 28 report_to prevent future deaths_ Mrs_Amna Umer Ahmed (deceased) Thank you for your letter addressed to the College Treasurer_ which has been passed to me for response as Honorary Secretary as have responsibility for responding to requests from coroners_ apologise profusely for the delay in responding to your request which is due to a changeover in staffing responsibilities within the organisation: On behalf of the College; set out below a brief description of the remit of the Royal College of General Practitioners and comments on the specific concerns you raise in your report with regard to general practitioners: possibility of generally low awareness of the condition of Sudden Adult Cardiac Death in general practice and apparent lack of awareness of guidelines available to guide GPs on circumstances for urgent referral of patients who might be suspected as at risk The_role_of the_College The Royal College of General Practitioners is a registered charity under Royal Charter and is the largest membership organisation in the United Kingdom solely for GPs. Founded in 1952, it has over 44,000 members who are committed to improving patient care, developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a discipline. We are an independent professional body with enormous expertise in patient-centred generalist clinical care. Through our General Practice Foundation, established by the RCGP in 2009, we also maintain close links with other professionals working in General Practice, such as practice managers, practice nurses and physician assistants As well as running the postgraduate Membership examination (MRCGP) which is now required for doctors to qualify as GPs, the College also provides continuing professional development (CPD) for its members, and these continuing programmes are also available to non-members of the College. However; not all GPs are members of the College, and older GPs may never have joined_ The General Medical Council holds the register of all who are considered able to practise as and it is to the GMC that revalidated doctors will be notified. Similarly, it is not for us to comment on the performance of any individual GP and the information set out below is solely to show you what we do in the context of training and advice to our Members_ Royal College of General Praetitioners 90 Euoten Square London NW1 2FB Tel 020 3188 7400 Fax 020 3180 7401 Email info@regp org;uk Web WWW;feep;org.Uk Patren: His Reyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh Registered charily number 223106 being GPs;
Coroners_concerns_on low awareness amongst GPs of SADand apparent lack of_guidelines for GPs on management of at risk patients Currently all doctors wishing to follow a career in general practice in the UK are required to undergo a 3 year programme of vocational training for general practice, based on the College's GP Curriculum The curriculum forms the foundation for GP training and assessment across the UK, prior to taking the College's Membership Examination (MRCGP) and is relevant to GPs throughout their career; including preparation for revalidation) httpIlwwrcgp org uklgp-training-and-examslgp-curriculum-overview aspx Cardiovascular disease is extensively covered in the Curriculum: Parts of RCCP Curriculum Statement 15.1 Cardiovascular disease in Primary Care: a for GPs are particularly relevant in this case namely: The section on family history from ch.2 Prevention of cardiovascular disease, and related reference list Chapter 6 'Cardiac arrhythmias' which diagnosis of arrhythmia (mentioned in your report) Chapter 11 'Emergency care' covers diagnosislfurther treatment of patients presenting with relevant symptoms. Photocopies of these sections of the Curriculum are attached for ease of reference More generally, other sources of guidance about Sudden Adult Cardiac Death syndrome are to be found on the website of the British Heart Foundation (which aims to provide help to both patients and their families and to healthcare professionals) http Ilwww bhf org uklpublications/publications-search- results aspx?mzsimple&g-Suddentadulttcardiactdeathtsyndrome and the European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice (version 2012) available online: http:JIwWescardio org/quidelines-surveyslesc-guidelines/Pages/cvd-preventionaspx We would support your suggestion of the need for joint working on raising awareness amongst GPs of Sudden Adult Cardiac Death_ svndrome with the appropriate specialist primary care society and have consulted the Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, an active College member, Tor his thoughts As yet no response has been received: will forward a copy of the response from the BHF as soon as receive it. Meanwhile, hope you find these comments helpful:
Coroners_concerns_on low awareness amongst GPs of SADand apparent lack of_guidelines for GPs on management of at risk patients Currently all doctors wishing to follow a career in general practice in the UK are required to undergo a 3 year programme of vocational training for general practice, based on the College's GP Curriculum The curriculum forms the foundation for GP training and assessment across the UK, prior to taking the College's Membership Examination (MRCGP) and is relevant to GPs throughout their career; including preparation for revalidation) httpIlwwrcgp org uklgp-training-and-examslgp-curriculum-overview aspx Cardiovascular disease is extensively covered in the Curriculum: Parts of RCCP Curriculum Statement 15.1 Cardiovascular disease in Primary Care: a for GPs are particularly relevant in this case namely: The section on family history from ch.2 Prevention of cardiovascular disease, and related reference list Chapter 6 'Cardiac arrhythmias' which diagnosis of arrhythmia (mentioned in your report) Chapter 11 'Emergency care' covers diagnosislfurther treatment of patients presenting with relevant symptoms. Photocopies of these sections of the Curriculum are attached for ease of reference More generally, other sources of guidance about Sudden Adult Cardiac Death syndrome are to be found on the website of the British Heart Foundation (which aims to provide help to both patients and their families and to healthcare professionals) http Ilwww bhf org uklpublications/publications-search- results aspx?mzsimple&g-Suddentadulttcardiactdeathtsyndrome and the European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice (version 2012) available online: http:JIwWescardio org/quidelines-surveyslesc-guidelines/Pages/cvd-preventionaspx We would support your suggestion of the need for joint working on raising awareness amongst GPs of Sudden Adult Cardiac Death_ svndrome with the appropriate specialist primary care society and have consulted the Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, an active College member, Tor his thoughts As yet no response has been received: will forward a copy of the response from the BHF as soon as receive it. Meanwhile, hope you find these comments helpful: