UK General Practice: RIP?

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  • 28/02/2022

    Very good article by Clare Gerada. Julian Tudor-Hart must be turning over in his grave.

    ‘In my 30 years as a GP, the profession has been horribly eroded’ | GPs | The Guardian

    This last day was in many ways symptomatic of the changes I have seen over the course of 30 years. Today, with advances of medicines and technology, patients are living longer, often with three or even four serious long-term conditions, so having one patient with heart failure, chronic respiratory problems, dementia and previous stroke is not at all unusual, whereas 30 years ago the heart failure might have carried them off in their 60s. This makes every patient much more complex, and it can be much harder to manage them and to get the balance of treatments right.

    Today, unlike 30 years ago, all patients are strangers and, as my catchment area now extends into different London boroughs, even the places I go are unfamiliar. Gone is the relationship between my community and me. Instead, I am part of a gig economy, as impersonal as the driver delivering a pizza. I ended the shift with a profound sense of loss and sadness.

    I cannot help but think that as a society we have lost the ability to do many things that we once did moderately well. Things that often worked and were good.