Last week, I had the misfortune to be sent an article by Dr Martyn Lobley published in the Daily Mail, criticising young GPs. Carrying the headline, “They are very caring but young GPs can’t diagnose for toffee” it was filled with anecdotes about yesteryear and how the medical profession has declined since the golden days of Dr Lobley’s training.
Fighting the futility of the exercise, I wrote a letter to the Daily Mail in response - they are yet to publish it. I think the most frustrating aspect of the article is that it made no attempt to acknowledge the transformation in training that has taken place in the last 30 years.
GP training, and indeed specialty training for all doctors, has been transformed completely since Dr Lobley’s day. We now have standardised curricula; quality assurance by the GMC, the Care Quality Commission monitoring the quality of our care and a continuing professional development requirement - to name a few improvements.
At this year’s BMA Annual Representative Meeting both Hamish Meldrum, chair of BMA council and Tom Dolphin, chair of JDC, uttered the words “put up, or shut up” following a debate on the issue of the quality of today’s junior doctors. I think Dr Lobley may have missed this as his article has no evidence to support his claims, and it only serves to damage our professional reputation. I think he may also have missed the GMC’s guidance on treating colleagues with professional respect.
If he is so concerned about the quality of care provided by young GPs, I wonder if he has taken it upon himself to address the issue, or even to highlight the problems he has seen. Perhaps he has become a GP trainer? Perhaps he has contributed to the curriculum via the College? Perhaps he has even reported poor treatment to the GMC or CQC?
Or perhaps this is a cynical exercise to deliberately court controversy with the aim of publicising a book he has recently written.
Tags: Training
