Why we all need to see the doctor

The vital reassurance of talking to a GP in-person is being lost as we're pushed towards impersonal phone appointments and our local pharmacists

- SUSAN LEE

WHEN did you last see your GP? That's not a trick question I am genuinely curious.

Not about your general state of health - none of my business - but I ask because I wonder how easy you're finding it to get a face-to-face with someone who can apply seven years of medical training to your sore throat?

A recent report found members of the public hugely value in-person GP appointments rather than phone or online consultations.

Face-to-face conversations result in greater patient satisfaction, say the findings of an Institute for Government survey.

A statement of the obvious if ever I heard one, reinforcing what most sensible people have long thought - there is no substitute for actually seeing a doctor.