26 May 2017
Quality of Life Must Be Ensured as Patients Live Longer, Says RCGP
Responding to research in The Lancet Public Health on the UK's growing ageing population, published today, Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:
“There seems to be a common theme with almost every new research paper about the future of health and social care published; we desperately need more investment across our NHS and social care system to cope with the growing and changing demands of our ageing population.
“It’s a great testament to medical research, and the NHS, that we are living longer – but we need to ensure that our patients are living longer, with a good quality of life. For this to happen we need a properly funded, properly staffed health and social care sector with general practice, hospitals and social care all working together - and all communicating well with each other, in the best interests of delivering safe care to all our patients.
“But as well as more resources, we agree with the authors of this study that prevention of chronic diseases that can have a serious effect on a patient’s quality of life is key, and this is something for which we all bear responsibility.
“We certainly support public health campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking, drinking alcohol, poor diet and sedentary lifestyles; and as GPs we will continue to encourage our patients to make lifestyle changes that could both prolong, and enhance their quality of life as they grow older.”
Further Information
RCGP Press office: 020 3188 7574/7575/7633
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 50,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.