Attitudes of general practitioners to occupational health services

To assess the attitude of General Practitioners towards Occupational Health Services in the NHS and industry, a questionnaire was sent to 63 GPs with a response rate of 83 per cent. The majority of GPs felt that Occupational Health Departments acted in the best interests of their patients; but felt that occupational physicians sometimes meddle in primary care. The views of GPs on the acceptability of occupational health involvement in health screening, education and specific vaccinations was varied, with enthusiasm for health education and very limited screening, but little enthusiasm for vaccinations. The overall view of occupational health was positive, but specific areas of communication and overlap of function need to be explored in more depth. The new GP contract places specific requirements on GPs to undertake health screening and to reach targets for vaccination and cervical cytology. If the quality of the interface between occupational health services and primary care can be improved, both specialties would benefit.