We would like to wholeheartedly echo the call by Baker and colleagues1 in their editorial to end the systematic denigration of both general practice and psychiatry, and at the same time to highlight the paucity of evidence and research in this area that we and others are attempting to re-address. No one appears to doubt the existence of denigration,2 and even medical students themselves have been compelled to put pen to paper and express their own personal feelings and opinions.3,4 But fundamental questions remain unanswered and seemingly unexplored. Where does this denigration occur: at medical school or in hospital trusts, or even in general practice itself? Who is responsible for the denigration: consultants, junior doctors, or our healthcare professional colleagues? Why does it occur: is it harmless banter to relieve the stress of the work or is it deeply ingrained prejudice based on a lack of awareness of the GP profession? At what stage does it occur: as medical students, as foundational doctors, or at the specialty or GP trainee level? And, most crucially of all, does the ‘banter’ influence the eventual career choice of potential GPs at the trainee stage, student stage, or even the pre-student stage?5
The time has come to end the bashing (Badmouthing, Attitudes, and Stigmatisation in Healthcare). Urgent research exploring the phenomenon and strategies to confront it must be invested in. Primary care is foundational to the NHS, and at the same time as billions of pounds are spent on investing in general practice, we surely need to invest in preventing one of the potential causes of its demise.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2016