Ben Leaman from the UK Collaborative program presented a ‘fairy-tale’ at the introductory day to the NPCC. It was a remarkably inspirational story of how small changes made at the grassroots level of general practice and shared across the system had a huge impact on the health of the CHD population in the UK, reducing mortality rates by up to 50%.The changes in this and other areas were so significant that more than 90% of GP practices are now involved in the collaborative program in the UK, and as a group they are now able to influence health policy.

The similarities between UK and Australian general practice are quite telling. In the UK, the GP workforce was quite demoralised and ‘change-fatigued’, but by the introduction of this collaborative process and instituting small and measurable changes in the way GPs work at all levels, the results have been remarkable.

In our situation in Australia, there is a similar level of low morale and ‘change fatigue’. For me, the most significant impact of this collaborative program will hopefully be a sense of empowerment. Instead of being constantly reactive to government initiatives and feeling swamped by red tape, the collaborative process allows you to gather information about what we are all doing and institute small but powerful changes, and measure realistic outcomes that are real!

Over time, just as in the UK, this may allow the GP workforce in Australia to actually influence government policy on health. Now wouldn’t that be an amazing outcome.

Dr Kingsley Pearson, Lismore.