General Practice section
When founded in 1956, the University of Edinburgh's Department of General Practice was the first of its kind in the world. It was led by Richard Scott until 1981, and then by John Howie from 1981 to 2000.
The Section of General Practice is therefore now known as Community Health Sciences - General Practice or CHS-GP. Academic and research staff have a range of disciplinary backgrounds including general practice, psychology, social science and nursing. Since its inception CHS-GP has engaged in four core activities - teaching, research, service/management (to both the university and the NHS) and the running of its general medical practice (Mackenzie Medical Centre).
- TEACHING Our mission in teaching is to inspire Edinburgh undergraduates to take up careers in General Practice, and equip them with the necessary basic skills. CHS-GP has links with over 50 teaching practices throughout the Lothian and Borders region. With this foundation in community-based clinical teaching, the section has in recent years taken a very prominent role in the medical faculty's undergraduate curriculum - it now delivers over 12% of clinical teaching within the Edinburgh medical curriculum.
CHS-GP is also actively developing its postgraduate teaching within the divisional structure of CHS.
- RESEARCH is undertaken under the umbrella of the Centre for Population Health Sciences, established in 2002. CHS-GP's mission in research is to enhance the evidence base of primary care - both in clinical practice and the design of health services. CHS-GP conducts a multidisciplinary research programme through its Research in Primary Care, a research grouping of CPHS with major programmes of work in
- cancer
- allergy and respiratory disease
- palliative care
- e-health
- primary mental health care
'Cross-cutting' themes include ethnicity and health inequalities. The Primary Care Research Group collaborates widely with the academic and healthcare communities, both nationally and internationally. Direct annual grant income in 2005/2006 was over £2m - funding sources include the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Asthma UK, MacMillan and the Chief Scientist's Office. CHS-GP research activity has been enhanced by two new chair appointments in recent years: in Primary Care R&D (Aziz Sheikh, 2003) and Primary Palliative Care (Scott Murray, 2006). CHS-GP run an in-house programme of seminars for researchers and research collaborators to present/discuss new research ideas or ongoing/completed research, or to be informed on methodological/funding issues.
- NHS SERVICE is achieved primarily through a general medical practice run by CHS-GP (Mackenzie Medical Centre). This serves some 5000 patients in the area around its premises in West Richmond Street. As a member of the South-East Local Healthcare Partnership (SE-LHP) it contributes to broader healthcare management in the region. Accredited with the Royal College of General Practitioners Quality Practice Award in 2000 and 2005, the practice supports the teaching and research of the department. Notably, its ongoing clinical care services are augmented with specific programmes for health promotion and management of chronic disease. In addition to clinical service, the section undertakes consultancy work for government, the NHS and industry.
- RESEARCH & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING is an important activity for CHS-GP, and is accomplished predominantly through postgraduate research students (PhD) and research training fellowships.
Contact information
General Practice Section
Division of Community Health Sciences
The University of Edinburgh
Levinson House
20 West Richmond Street
Edinburgh EH8 9DX
| HEAD: |
David.Weller@ed.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 2807
Fax: +44 (0)131 650 9519
|
| Administrator: |
Jan.Bunyan@ed.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 9518
Fax: +44 (0)131 650 9519
|
| For research enquiries: |
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 2680
Fax: +44 (0)131 650 9119 |
| Mackenzie Medical Centre contacts: |
| Patient enquiries only: |
+44 (0)131 667 2955 |
| Repeat prescriptions only: |
+44 (0)131 650 2674 |
