Collaborating with your GP post PICU admission

A satirical article published for the British Medical Journal in 2018 suggested that if general practitioners did all the preventive care they were expected to do that the average day for the GP would need to be extended by approximately 6 hours.

Clearly, GPs have a job that is impossible to do perfectly!

Recently, I have been involved with the PICOLO project in an advisory capacity, suggesting ways that children with a PICU admission can be followed up in the community, in particular using GPs.

Driving this is despite the now high survival rate of PICU admissions that there is also a high rate of new or emerging morbidities post PICU admission that should be identified and addressed as soon as possible to reduce their burden. Given that nearly everyone has access to a GP, and GPs are the only near-universal preventive care access point in the health system, it makes sense that this is where these concerns are identified.

The post PICU admission child seeing their GP is competing with all the other preventative care measures the GP is trying to get their head across in a busy day. This is where the parents and carers can help.

As a GP, it is very much appreciated when a patient’s needs are presented to me on a platter, especially if it is a situation I may not have that much experience in dealing with, and for most GPs a post PICU admission child does not come across their cross-hairs that often.

So going to your GP with a problem list of issues that may arise post PICU admission and that need to be monitored for makes our job a lot easier. It also means that we are far more likely to be able to best meet the preventative health needs of your child. And maybe we might just get home in time for dinner!