The National Health Service

Primary care

UNIT 6

The National Health Service (NHS) is responsible for health care for everyone in the UK and gives emergency treatment for visitors. Although a small number of patients chooses to pay for private care. Treatment is free but there is a prescription charge for drugs and appliances, such as a cervical collar, with exemptions for some patients, such as children and the elderly.

Primary care is provided by general practitioners, or GPs, (sometimes known as family doctors), nurses, dentists, pharmacists and opticians. Dentists and opticians usually have separate clinics. They are not parts of health centres.

GPs work in practices of 1 to 20. Practices are based in a surgery and look after the health of from 1,000 to 15,000 people in their local community. They also provide health education in areas such as smoking and diet, run clinics, give vaccinations, for example for influenza, and may perform minor surgery such as removal of warts and moles. If a patient needs specialist care, the GP will make a referral andrefer the patient to a consultant in secondary care.

Patients are normally consulted on an appointment basis. Home visits are made when patients are housebound i.e. they areunable to leave their homesor too ill to attend surgery. Out-of-hours (ООН) treatment, from 6 pm to 8 am, is provided by the local Primary Care Trust, which organizes shifts of GPs and locum GPs to cover if someone is absent.

Much attention is paid to the educational programmes. The Department of Health provides anti-smoking education programmes, alcohol education programmes, cancer prevention programmes and so on. Much attention is paid to the AIDS and drug programmes.

Great Britain pays much attention to the qualification of doctors. They are trained at 16 universities. Besides, they get practice during their work at teaching hospitals.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-10