General practitioner training and older people--health education perspectives on day release programmes

The topic of health education and older people is being given greater emphasis in primary care settings. A survey was mounted to investigate the contribution of vocational training in preparing GPs for this area of work. The balance of education was found to be towards the sick and frail elderly; developing 'healthy lifestyles' for old age was given very limited attention. The article concludes with some suggestions for change in the context of training programmes.