DONCASTER'S health bosses have set up an agreement to try to improve their communications with family doctors.
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has targeted the quality and speed of written communication to GPs and patients as one of its priorities for improvements under the deal.
As part of its plans, it has set timescale targets wit
h the local primary care trusts which will eventually see its hospitals issue patients' discharge summaries and outpatient clinic letters to patients' GPs within 24 hours.
The 24-hour target will come into place from September 2009.
Doctors hope to bring the target in gradually, by bringing in a 72-hour target from September 30 this year, and 48 hours from March 31 next year.
A number of surveys have been carried out to find out how things can be speeded up which reveal the main problems include a typing backlog.
Managers are developing action plans to sort out any problems which may include doing more work electronically.
The trust runs Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Mexborough Montagu Hospital and Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop.
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