TY - JOUR T1 - Mud wrestling JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 590 LP - 590 DO - 10.3399/bjgp08X319864 VL - 58 IS - 553 AU - Mike Fitzpatrick Y1 - 2008/08/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/58/553/590.1.abstract N2 - I recently found myself with a few moments for reflection in the surgery, a most unfamiliar experience. The occasion was the first session of our new extended opening hours: four patients had booked appointments between 7 and 8 a.m., but only two turned up. A waste of time of course, but what a triumph for the government!At a time when everything else he touches turns to dust, and humiliation attends every appearance of the Labour Party at the polls, Gordon Brown's imposition of supermarket hours in general practice has been a spectacular success. Although apparently bereft of the skills necessary to administer the domestic economy or a coherent foreign policy, government ministers and their spin doctors have succeeded brilliantly in convincing the nation that GPs are too busy … ER -