1993-2023
In the fourth part of our look back at the UK health survey results published in the launch issue of Top Santé, March 1993, we look at some of the answers and views on our local GPs!
‘T HE GREATEST, most-lasting achievement of the post-war Labour government, was the creation of the National Health Service, and we British remain fiercely loyal to the system as it is – or as we perceive it,’ we reported in our 1993 launch issue. But it seems even 30 years ago the NHS was in trouble, as we had one line opening with ‘Despite problems with the NHS…’, so it was clearly struggling back then, though perhaps nowhere near as much as today.
In the early 90s, hospital waiting lists in the UK were apparently ‘the worst in the European Community’. On average, they were longer than a month, with one-in-seven patients having to wait four months or more. Patients in Hungary, by comparison, could expect a hospital appointment within a couple of days of referral by their GP. In 2023, the government said all patients who need to see their GP should be given an appointment within two weeks. However, patients are waiting far longer in many areas of the country – up to 19 days in one case study or much longer in other areas.*
A STRESSFUL PROFESSION
On a more personal level, when asked to characterise their GP, most common answers given in the 1993 survey were: ‘explains and discusses treatment’, ‘treats me as an equal’, ‘is up-to-date with the latest treatments and medical ideas’, ‘brisk but kindly’, and ‘treats me like a family friend’. This massive vote of confidence in family doctors was expressed most emphatically, according to our 1993 report, ‘by women, by better educated people and by the elderly’.
Few people thought badly of GPs: ‘talks down to me’, ‘too oldfashioned’, ‘dismissive of personal problems’, and ‘bad at dealing with women’s problems’ were reported by only one in 20.
However, the job of a GP was a stressful one: ‘The rate of alcoholism, divorce and drug dependency in doctors in the UK is frighteningly high; and they do not live longer than profess
