GENERAL-PRACTITIONER ATTITUDES TO DAY SURGERY

Background Day surgery is increasing in importance. Unfortunately, its impact upon health professionals in the community is poorly documente d. This paper reports the opinions of general practitioners (GPs) in a North Western Health District. Methods A structured attitude question naire was sent to all GPs in Trafford Health District. GPs were asked for their opinions of the relative merits of day and in-patient surger y for patients with similar conditions. Replies were received from 71 GPs, giving a response rate of 65 per cent. Results GPs gave only a mi xed level of support to the idea of further expansion. This related le ss to considerations of workload in the Primary Care Team than it did to concerns about readmissions and complications. Conclusion The furth er development of day surgery will require a greater sensitivity to th e resource and information needs of professionals in the Primary Care Team.