Editor—I found the patients' issue thoroughly depressing.1 As a doctor in training, I am presented, on a daily basis, with evidence implying that doctors are, variously, self serving, arrogant, poor communicators, unconcerned with their patients, lazy, insufficiently expert, dangerous, negligent, in the pay of big business, reactionary, Luddite, and rude. These stereotypes are peddled by the media and are becoming ingrained in the national psyche.
I was disappointed to see very few (if any) contributions to the patients' issue from doctors who currently face patients in an emergency, at unsocial hours, in dismal surroundings. These patients present with unrealistic expectations, which have been constantly inflated by government spin and the gross commercialisation of society. I believe that the patients' issue merely served to add insult to a group of healthcare workers who, in general, are striving to provide better care every single day, in difficult circumstances, and I was galled to have my perceived shortcomings yet again highlighted, in a journal so closely allied to my union and professional organisation. It may well be that the BMA does not actually fund the BMJ directly, but I, for one, will be asking the association to clarify this relationship in more detail.
A better relationship between doctors and patients is a fantastic goal, but it will not be advanced by sending covert messages that doctors are always to blame when things don't go right.
Competing interests: RM is a practising senior house officer in the NHS.
References
- 1.Smith R. From the editor. BMJ 2003;326. (14 June.)