As a busy GP, I am fully aware and exposed to the everyday pressures faced by our National Health Service, sadly witnessing the NHS stretching to breaking point. A huge spectrum of demands placed on services, realistically this sometimes results in patients being unable to access the most effective treatment they require. Cancer Care is […]
Shortest consultation ever. An elderly gentleman walked into my consulting room and sat down. “Morning doctor.” And good morning to you too I reply. And how are you? “I’m very well” he replied, “Good day!” And with that he up and left. 60 seconds. If only they were all like that. Sadly, the old boy […]
When I was offered the job as the TV doctor on BBC One’s Doctor in the House series, I was initially torn. As a GP practising in a busy clinic, I take patient care very seriously. It did occur to me that talking to patients live on camera and discussing their health problems could break some […]
I’m not sure I actually want to, however, this is my role. I am a human being sitting in a doctor’s chair seeing patients in much the fashion Roger Neighbour has described in his latest book ‘The Inner Physician’. Zooming in on pathological signs and zooming out to take notice of wider and social contexts relating to the consulting […]
Not so long ago, I found myself in the ‘swampy lowlands’ of general practice, a term devised by the philosopher, Donald Schon to describe those areas of professional practice uncharted by evidence and incapable of technical solution. I found myself sitting on a filthy sofa in a cluttered flat, listening to the tears of my […]
I am a GP at a busy NHS practice in Greater London. During a busy day, I see around 40 patients for five to ten minutes each. People come in and see me with problems ranging from ear ache to high blood pressure and fertility problems. I love my job but it is inevitable that the […]
Since I began my studies I have, perhaps unsurprisingly, become somewhat of a hypochondriac. The infamous ‘medical student syndrome’ is hard to escape when you spend every day reading about numerous conditions often with non-specific symptoms. A twinge of pain can transform into terminal cancer, a headache into meningitis. My favourite ailment so far struck […]
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