Background:

The NHS plan proposes up to 1000 general practitioners with a special interest (GPwSIs) by 2004. 1, 2 Following a meeting organised by the General Practice Airways Group (GPIAG) Williams et al, in their discussion document 3 outlined the possible roles of a GPwSI, using respiratory medicine as a model. A GPIAG working party then met up with the representatives of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and produced a draft working document which could give guidance to primary care organisations (PCO's) about the the possible role of a GPwSI in respiratory medicine together with the core competencies needed to fulfil such a role. This stated that the role of a GpwSI in respiratory medicine is primarily one of leadership and service development (ie as a GP lead in respiratory medicine within a PCO).