The Exeter Diabetic Project: An Acceptable District‐wide Education Programme for General Practitioners

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Abstract
The Health District is a logical administrative unit for planning health services, and therefore the feasibility of delivering education for general practitioners across one such area was studied. By providing a suitable educational programme at convenient locations, it was possible to involve 89% out of 180 principals in General Practice in the Exeter Health District. Two-thirds of these general practitioners attended educational sessions away from the District Postgraduate Centre. In a questionnaire answered by 81% of the involved general practitioners, 98% acknowledged responsibility for managing their diabetic patients, but 76% admitted to inadequate skills in retinal assessment. In a follow-up postal questionnaire answered by 64% of general practitioners involved in the project, 74% found that they learnt from the retinopathy screening clinic and 100% found the sessions on eye disease helpful. The education programme was designed to link with a District-wide retinopathy screening initiative.