Doctors no longer need medical secretaries

In 1995, learning to type using two fat fingers, I cursed the fact that I hadn’t taken secretarial studies. Since then computers have transformed primary care with online systems, scanned letters, electronic referrals, and searchable databases. Paper is dead. And as a consequence we have dispensed with secretarial support. I type all my own referrals and reports, I answer emails on the go, and I use my phone as my diary. Communication is easier and quicker. Technology is both revolution and revelation. So why has the NHS as …