Report reveals variations in GP referral rates

Some patients wait longer than others before seeing a specialist because of disparities in GP performance, a new report has found.

A major inquiry commissioned by the King's Fund concluded that the majority of GP care is good.

However, it uncovered gaps in the quality of care delivered by GPs and widespread variations in performance.

For instance, researchers observed an eight-fold variation in the rate at which practices refer patients with suspected cancer for urgent investigation.

The quality of diagnosis also differs widely between practices, with about a third of patients with stomach or oesophageal cancer given a non-urgent referral when they should have been treated as urgent cases.

Sir Ian Kennedy, who chaired the inquiry by an independent panel of experts, said: "I hope general practice will rise to the challenges set out in this report and seize the opportunity provided by the development of GP commissioning to deliver the improvements in quality needed."

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, said most practices provide good care quality, but suggested that standards could be raised by eliminating bureaucracy.