TY - JOUR T1 - Calling time on the 10-minute consultation JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 118 LP - 119 DO - 10.3399/bjgp12X625102 VL - 62 IS - 596 AU - Jonathan Silverman AU - Paul Kinnersley Y1 - 2012/03/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/62/596/118.abstract N2 - Many GPs will be concerned by the recent announcement from the government's advisers, the NHS Future Forum, that:‘Every healthcare professional should “make every contact count”: use every contact with an individual to maintain or improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing where possible, in particular targeting the four main lifestyle risk factors: diet, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco — whatever their specialty or the purpose of the contact.’1The Forum urges a ‘transformation in the relationship’ between medical staff and patients and suggests health staff routinely talk to patients about their lifestyles, even when they are suffering an unrelated illness, and offer them advice to become healthier. The Forum suggests this responsibility should be included in the NHS Constitution.Contrast this view with that of the current president of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 1995:‘I believe that all my patients are now fully informed of the dangers of smoking. Sadly many continue to smoke because they lead lives which are so materially and emotionally constrained that cigarette smoking is one of pitifully few sources of pleasure and relief. … Health differentials based on social class are blamed on lifestyle choices, the victims are blamed, and responsibility for reducing cigarette smoking (and obesity, and alcohol consumption) is passed to the GP who must raise the subject, to the point of becoming very tedious on every possible occasion.’2Three papers in this month's BJGP and one in a forthcoming issue provide an eclectic snapshot of some of the many problems facing modern GPs as they … ER -