General practitioners as providers of minor surgery--a success story?
BACKGROUND: It is now recognized that many minor surgical procedures can be appropriately performed in a general practitioner setting; the government has introduced a list of minor operations, for which it is prepared to pay a limited fee, and it is now time to see whether this service can be expanded. AIM: To demonstrate that a group of general practitioners (GPs) with a particular interest in minor surgery can offer an expanded service both to their own patients and also to the patients of neighbouring colleagues, whether fundholding or non-fundholding, within a health authority area. METHOD: The West Kent Health Authority awarded a contract for 500 minor operations to a group practice of five GPs. At the end of the first year, 511 operations had been performed, and the results and implications are discussed. RESULTS: The target of 500 minor operations was met and passed in the first year. Thirty-five neighbouring GPs referred their patients directly. All were offered an initial appointment within one week and had their operation performed within one month, unless they had expressed a preference for an alternative date. Several unsuspected malignancies were discovered-no complications were recorded, patients' and referring doctors' satisfaction was high and the scheme was judged to have been a success in their eyes. CONCLUSION: GPs can provide an efficient, cost-effective minor surgery service, which is popular with patients and referring colleagues. Whether this is the way we wish to organize minor surgery in the future needs further discussion.