RCGP Supports RPS Transfer of Care

RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada said:

"The Royal College of General Practitioners welcomes this new guidance; our commitment to consistency and continuity are so important to improving and maintaining the quality of care that our patients receive, and this commitment should extend to the way we transfer information about our patients’ medicines.

"Of course mistakes with medicines should not happen as patients transfer between services; this results in unnecessary hospital admissions which are extremely expensive for the NHS at a time when we all need to be aware of financial waste.

"But far, far more importantly is this impact these errors can have on the health of our patients. Healthcare professionals have the best interests of their patients at heart, but mistakes such as these, as patients transfer between services, fly in the face of the hard work clinicians do every day to improve their patients’ health.

"This guidance will help improve the way healthcare professionals across the NHS communicate information about our patients’ medicinal needs. Patients rightly expect the best possible quality of care from their health service, and we all have a responsibility to work together to ensure that the patient experience is the best it can be; this new guidance will help make sure that it is."