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Letters

General practice in UK newspapers: the influence of major policy changes

Sarah L Alderson, Adam Balkham and Robbie Foy
British Journal of General Practice 2019; 69 (680): 119. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X701429
Sarah L Alderson
Leeds Institute of Health Sciences. Email:
Roles: NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Primary Care
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  • For correspondence: s.l.alderson@leeds.ac.uk
Adam Balkham
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust.
Roles: Psychiatry Core Trainee 1
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Robbie Foy
Leeds Institute of Health Sciences.
Roles: Professor of Primary Care
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All letters are subject to editing and may be shortened. General letters can be sent to bjgpdisc{at}rcgp.org.uk (please include your postal address for publication), and letters responding directly to BJGP articles can be submitted online via eLetters. We regret we cannot notify authors regarding publication.

For submission instructions visit: bjgp.org/letters

We read with interest the findings of Barry and Greenhalgh indicating the continuing negative portrayal of GPs in UK newspapers.1 The authors highlight that general practice is seen as a service in crisis, with low morale and high burnout, and that GPs are portrayed as being responsible for the crisis and resulting negative impacts on patient care.

Our previous studies suggested that UK newspaper coverage of general practice became unfavourable following the introduction of the new General Medical Services contract in 2004.2 Previous recognition of demanding working conditions and relatively poor rewards in general practice transformed into a predominantly negative portrayal, with concerns about unfairly excessive income and poor use of public money. The introduction of the Health and Social Care Bill in 20113 continued this trend, with signs of eroding trust in GPs. Public perceptions of how GPs are paid will continue to damage public trust if the drive to meet pay-for-performance targets is perceived as undermining patient-centred care.

Persistent negative media coverage may also hinder GP recruitment and retention. We advise that media stories written by doctors may mitigate this unfavourable trend. We suggest that GPs should actively engage with the media to broaden the debate from costs and capacity alone to quality and equity of care.

  • © British Journal of General Practice 2019

REFERENCES

  1. 1.↵
    1. Barry E,
    2. Greenhalgh T
    (2019) Br J Gen Pract, General practice in UK newspapers: an empirical analysis of over 400 articles. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X700757.
  2. 2.↵
    1. Tanner F,
    2. Foy R,
    3. Harrison W
    (2010) ‘Wads up, doc’ — trends in British newspapers’ reporting of general practitioners’ pay. Prim Health Care Res Dev 11(4):405–409.
    OpenUrl
  3. 3.↵
    1. Balkham A,
    2. Alderson S
    (2017) ‘The biggest car crash in NHS history’: the media portrayal of GP pay before and after the introduction of the Health and Social Care Bill 2011. Prim Health Care Res Dev 8(1):84–91.
    OpenUrl
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British Journal of General Practice: 69 (680)
British Journal of General Practice
Vol. 69, Issue 680
March 2019
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General practice in UK newspapers: the influence of major policy changes
Sarah L Alderson, Adam Balkham, Robbie Foy
British Journal of General Practice 2019; 69 (680): 119. DOI: 10.3399/bjgp19X701429

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General practice in UK newspapers: the influence of major policy changes
Sarah L Alderson, Adam Balkham, Robbie Foy
British Journal of General Practice 2019; 69 (680): 119. DOI: 10.3399/bjgp19X701429
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