TY - JOUR T1 - Child health care: adequate training for all UK GPs is long overdue JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 228 LP - 229 DO - 10.3399/bjgp16X684853 VL - 66 IS - 646 AU - Neena Modi AU - Chantal Simon Y1 - 2016/05/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/66/646/228.abstract N2 - General practice has long been viewed as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the UK health service, with the image of a friendly Dr Finlay or an avuncular Dr Cameron still coming to mind with the phrase ‘family doctor’. But much has changed in the 60 plus years since general practice in the UK was created and the job of the GP is now very different. Here we consider whether general practice has evolved sufficiently to meet the needs of infants, children, and young people.When the NHS was formed in 1948 GPs took on the responsibility of providing front line care for the whole population, and providing a gateway for access to specialist services. Rather than becoming salaried employees, GPs remained independent self-employed practitioners and outside the NHS. The Collings Report in 1950 (the first examination of the quality of GP care) found poor standards and working conditions and isolation from other healthcare professionals. The subsequent years brought better premises, support staff, and a growth in professionalism, cemented by the creation of the College of General Practitioners in 1952, which gained its Royal Charter in 1972. However, it was only in 1976, after much discussion about the adequacy of training, that a mandatory 3-year postgraduate programme was introduced for doctors aiming to become GPs. This initially included only 12 months of actual general practice experience. Although the period of training out of hospital in the community has now increased to 18 months, the UK GP training programme has remained essentially unchanged for 40 years. … ER -