Newson falls into his own trap of seeking ‘evidence’ to reinforce his own prejudices. There are many more possible explanations for his anecdotal diagnostic delays than training or skills of individual GPs. With regard to his case:1
How many GPs were consulted?
Crucially, what was the appointment system?
Did he report as a significant event to the referrer?
What were the lessons?
With regard to Duchenne’s, I wonder if diagnostic delay has any relationship to the reduction in routine health checks, and a scarcity of health visitors.
I suspect any secondary care specialist could make what they feel is a justified case for taking their own area of work out of general practice. This is the kind of denigration of general practice that has been well recorded in medical schools.
Both Newsom and Ridd’s articles1,2 are doctor-centric, and ignore the critical issue of building personal continuity into appointments systems (though that is a challenge in an era of less than full-time professional working).
Sanjay Patel’s article offers an interesting, alternative, constructive, and cooperative approach.3
REFERENCES
- 1.Newson TP. Would primary care paediatricians improve UK child health outcomes? Yes. Br J Gen Pract. 2020 doi: 10.3399/bjgp20X709229. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed]
- 2.Ridd MJ, Thompson MJ. Would primary care paediatricians improve UK child health outcomes? No. Br J Gen Pract. 2020 doi: 10.3399/bjgp20X709289. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed]
- 3.Patel S, Hodgkinson T, Fowler R, et al. Integrating acute services for children and young people across primary and secondary care. Br J Gen Pract. 2020 doi: 10.3399/bjgp20X708917. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed]