Family practice
-
Assessment of the quality of primary care services may be enhanced by including patient perceptions as well as professional judgment of quality. There is a need for reliable and valid instruments to measure these perceptions. ⋯ The scale can be used by physicians or primary health care units and has a wide range of applications.
-
Locum doctors provide cover during normal working hours for GPs absent due to holidays, sickness, maternity leave or for educational purposes. However, there is little information on the extent of the use of locums or of GPs' perception of their services. ⋯ There are high demands for, but a considerable shortage of, locum doctors in general practice. Educational and other initiatives for GPs may contribute to increased demands for locum cover. Difficulties in recruitment may be reduced by measures to improve the conditions of employment for doctors working as locums on a longer term basis. New codes of practice for employing locums may increase satisfaction with locum services.