Ávarp Óttars Proppé heilbrigðisráðherra

Dear Nordic General Practitioners, dear all participants in the 20th Nordic Congress of General Practice.

I am really impressed to see how many of you have taken time to attend the congress here in Iceland.

It shows me how dedicated you all are in building and providing strong primary health care services in your countries and local regions.

To me there is no question about the importance of primary health care and the role of general practitioners.

To a very great extent it builds on the crucial and strong doctor–patient relationship that has been and remains a keystone of health care.

The doctor–patient relationship determines the quality and completeness of care and it is critical, both for the patient as well as for the general practitioner.

Dear guests.

Teamwork in primary health care has been strongly encouraged and highlighted during the recent decade.

A team approach in primary care has proven benefits in achieving better outcomes, reducing health care costs, satisfying patient needs, ensuring continuity of care and increasing job satisfaction among health providers.

In Iceland, we have had this in mind in developing and improving our primary health care system.

For this purpose multi-disciplinary team work at the Primary Health Care Centres have been strengthened and in coming years a larger number of psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionist and other professionals will be appointed to better meet the needs of the individuals, for example, in relation to mental and lifestyle challenges.

To further improve the quality of our services a new quality and payment system is being introduced and is expected to improve service efficiency and access to primary care as the first contact point into the health care system.

Two new primary health care centres will be opened in the capital area in the coming weeks.

We are convinced that these developments will be very important for the success of General Practice and the primary health care services here in Iceland.

Dear participants.

I am well aware of our need to increase the number of general practitioners in Iceland, as well as in most of our neighbouring countries.

An increased focus has been put on the training positions for specialists in general practice and we have managed to increase the number of these positions and spread them around to the different health care centres in Iceland.

In this context the Nordic collaboration has been crucial, as most of these trainees will go abroad to finish their training there.

I know that this collaboration and exchange of trainees has shown to be of great value to all parts.

I will do my utmost to increase further the training posts in Iceland.

The very strong support and enthusiasm, shown by the Icelandic general practitioners through the years, has been of highest importance in building and strengthening the general practice training through the whole medical education, from the first year of medical studies to the last year of specialist training.

A strong proof of this dedication, which I hope I remember correctly, is that after the fifth Nordic congress of General Practice, - the first being held in Iceland with a substantial voluntary input by the colleagues, - the Icelandic Association of General Practitioners donated and financed for three years the first professor position in General Practice to the University of Iceland.

Dear participants.

I sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful congress, that your scientific lectures and social gatherings will empower you all in your important roles in your different settings in your countries.

Thank you again for giving me your attention.