Why is my GP waiting room still empty? Not because of lazy doctors, that’s for sure

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Now, for a member of my own family, to ask me – a GP of more than 20 years’ experience, and a senior GP representative for the British Medical Association – this question shows that there is a vast disconnect between what people see in their GP surgery and read in the newspapers, and the experience of doctors and practice staff working so hard on the ground. Over the last two years, through the worst of Covid and beyond, GPs and our colleagues have read with dismay the headlines in certain media about practices “shutting their doors” or “refusing” to see patients face-to-face, implying that practice teams have been sat around twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do. Not all of the UK’s response to the pandemic was a success – from shambolic Test and Trace to the tragedy caused by patients being discharged into care homes without testing – but some of the changes in practices did enable us to think differently about how we improve ways of working to manage demand going forward and make the most of capacity while striving to provide patients with the care they need. Practice staff and patients are on the same team and despite the waiting room appearing less busy than many may be used to, there are dedicated staff going to great lengths behind the scenes to look after people.