Table 1.
Attitudes to hypothetical illness in themselves among consultants and general practitioners. Values are numbers (percentages) of doctors responding to each question
| Illness | Go to work | Take time off | Self medicate | Informal consultation | Formal consultation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vomiting all night | |||||
| Consultants | 226 (53) | 205 (48) | 85 (20) | 29 (7) | 39 (9) |
| General practitioners | 485 (67) | 240 (33) | 212 (29) | 36 (5) | 30 (4) |
| Blood in urine | |||||
| Consultants | 114 (27) | 9 (2) | 14 (3) | 145 (34) | 230 (54) |
| General practitioners | 266 (37) | 7 (1) | 185 (26) | 89 (12) | 394 (54) |
| Growing dependency on alcohol | |||||
| Consultants | 87 (20) | 22 (5) | 3 (1) | 154 (36) | 190 (45) |
| General practitioners | 204 (28) | 66 (9) | 7 (1) | 216 (30) | 326 (45) |
| Unexplained onset of headaches | |||||
| Consultants | 114 (27) | 21 (5) | 52 (12) | 158 (37) | 213 (50) |
| General practitioners | 346 (48) | 29 (4) | 227 (31) | 104 (14) | 298 (41) |
| Severe anxiety for 2 weeks | |||||
| Consultants | 110 (26) | 63 (15) | 27 (6) | 143 (33) | 195 (46) |
| General practitioners | 264 (37) | 115 (16) | 92 (13) | 153 (21) | 349 (48) |
| Suspected stomach ulcer | |||||
| Consultants | 85 (20) | 10 (2) | 119 (28) | 132 (31) | 206 (48) |
| General practitioners | 199 (28) | 13 (2) | 331 (46) | 55 (8) | 377 (52) |
| Low mood over the past month | |||||
| Consultants | 137 (32) | 61 (14) | 18 (4) | 122 (29) | 196 (46) |
| General practitioners | 286 (40) | 92 (13) | 63 (9) | 150 (21) | 351 (49) |