The front line of England’s NHS is being reinvented
A shortage of family doctors leaves little choice but to try something new
THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE is free, so it is also rationed. Family doctors, known as general practitioners (GPs), act as the first port of call for patients; friendly gatekeepers to the rest of the service who refer people to specialists only if needed. But in some parts of the country, including St Austell on the Cornish coast, access to the rationers is itself now rationed. “You can’t book an appointment to see me here,” explains Stewart Smith, a 39-year-old GP, one of a team in charge of an innovative new medical centre. “You go on a list and then we triage you.”
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “What’s up, doc?”
Britain June 29th 2019
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- A rare peep at the finances of Britain’s 0.01%
- Seeking students and status, regional universities set up in London
- How Welshmen went from mining coal to pumping iron
- Leaving the EU is straining the union with Scotland
From the June 29th 2019 edition
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