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Abi Rimmer’s “five minutes with Mohammed Abbas Khaki” from 24th April, served as an important reminder that not only are GPs still here, but that we have some vital ongoing roles to perform for our patients.[1] And over the past few weeks of telephone and video consultations during lockdown, an additional role for GPs has become clear in my practice, that of being a familiar voice, that is still out there and remains reassuringly accessible.
In an essay for the New York Times last month, entitled ‘How to be Lonely”, author Olivia Laing suggests that “part of the reason that the current crisis is so frightening is that it sets off a fear not just of being in quarantine but also of being abandoned altogether”.[2] This she describes as the “nightmare of the social animal”.
Research into general practice consultations never fail to highlight the importance not simply of their clinical elements but also the social, connecting elements that occur between a doctor and their patient. The value placed on continuity [3] and familiarity [4] and the better outcomes seen because of them [5] are well documented.
So it’s perhaps no wonder that patients are so appreciative when one of their usual doctors is still there to speak to them. Someone recognisable, who is as willing as in pre-lockdown days to discuss ongoing or new symptoms, give advice about managing existing conditions while isolating and to offer reassurance that they have not been abandoned, even if their recent referral has been cancelled until further notice.
In her New York Times piece, Laing says that one of the hardest things for people to grasp is that loneliness, especially now, is a shared state and that whatever anxieties people are suffering they are not alone.
Perhaps it’s one of the vital roles of GPs at this time to be able to remind them of that.
Reference
1 Rimmer, A. GPs are still available: five minutes with . . . Mohammed Abbas Khaki BMJ 2020;369:m1663
2 Laing, O. How to Be Lonely. New York Times 19th March 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/opinion/coronavirus-loneliness.html (Accessed 28th April 2020)
3 Freeman, G and Hughes, J. Continuity of Care and the Patient Experience. https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_document/co... (Accessed 28th April 2020)
4 Schers, H, van den Hoogen, H, Bor, H et al. Famiiarity with a GP and patients' evaluations of care. A cross-sectional study, Family Practice 2005, Volume 22, Issue 1, 15–19, https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmh721 (Accessed 28th April 2020)
5 Loder, E. Familiarity breeds better outcomes BMJ 2017; 356 :j558
Competing interests:
No competing interests
28 April 2020
Simon E Atkins
GP
Fishponds Family Practice, Beechwood Road, Bristol BS16 3TD
Re: GPs are still available: five minutes with . . . Mohammed Abbas Khaki
Abi Rimmer’s “five minutes with Mohammed Abbas Khaki” from 24th April, served as an important reminder that not only are GPs still here, but that we have some vital ongoing roles to perform for our patients.[1] And over the past few weeks of telephone and video consultations during lockdown, an additional role for GPs has become clear in my practice, that of being a familiar voice, that is still out there and remains reassuringly accessible.
In an essay for the New York Times last month, entitled ‘How to be Lonely”, author Olivia Laing suggests that “part of the reason that the current crisis is so frightening is that it sets off a fear not just of being in quarantine but also of being abandoned altogether”.[2] This she describes as the “nightmare of the social animal”.
Research into general practice consultations never fail to highlight the importance not simply of their clinical elements but also the social, connecting elements that occur between a doctor and their patient. The value placed on continuity [3] and familiarity [4] and the better outcomes seen because of them [5] are well documented.
So it’s perhaps no wonder that patients are so appreciative when one of their usual doctors is still there to speak to them. Someone recognisable, who is as willing as in pre-lockdown days to discuss ongoing or new symptoms, give advice about managing existing conditions while isolating and to offer reassurance that they have not been abandoned, even if their recent referral has been cancelled until further notice.
In her New York Times piece, Laing says that one of the hardest things for people to grasp is that loneliness, especially now, is a shared state and that whatever anxieties people are suffering they are not alone.
Perhaps it’s one of the vital roles of GPs at this time to be able to remind them of that.
Reference
1 Rimmer, A. GPs are still available: five minutes with . . . Mohammed Abbas Khaki BMJ 2020;369:m1663
2 Laing, O. How to Be Lonely. New York Times 19th March 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/opinion/coronavirus-loneliness.html (Accessed 28th April 2020)
3 Freeman, G and Hughes, J. Continuity of Care and the Patient Experience. https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_document/co... (Accessed 28th April 2020)
4 Schers, H, van den Hoogen, H, Bor, H et al. Famiiarity with a GP and patients' evaluations of care. A cross-sectional study, Family Practice 2005, Volume 22, Issue 1, 15–19, https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmh721 (Accessed 28th April 2020)
5 Loder, E. Familiarity breeds better outcomes BMJ 2017; 356 :j558
Competing interests: No competing interests