Fighting for the Soul of General Practice

Rupal Shah, Jens Foell

ISBN 10: 1789388392 / ISBN 13: 9781789388398

Published by Intellect, GB, 2024

About this Item

This collection of stories from two practising GPs describes the reality of working within a failing and highly bureaucratic system, where there is a balancing act: regulation versus relationships; autonomy versus standard practice; algorithm versus individual attention.We aren't suggesting a return to a 'better' time. We don't object to being bureaucrats, embedded within and accountable to the systems we are in. But we do want to consider how and with what the gap left by the old-fashioned GP has been filled. We use stories based on our experience to describe the effect of different facets of bureaucracy on our ability to maintain a nuanced, individualised approach to each patient and encounter; and to question the prominence and effect of protocol. We are interested in the way professional relationships are influenced by protocol: between and within organisations; and most importantly with patients/clients/service users.We are accustomed nowadays to automated telephone lines, chatbots, website FAQs- the frustration of being unable to connect with another human being who will listen to our particular question and give us something other than a generic answer. The same issues that are facing society at large have changed the way in which we work as GPs and the care we give.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781789388398

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fighting for the Soul of General Practice
• Publisher: Intellect, GB
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1789388392
• ISBN 13: 9781789388398
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 14.61W x 1.78H x 20.96D centimeters 14.61 centimeters width by 1.78 centimeters height by 20.96 centimeters depth

About this title

Synopsis

An argument for attentive and personal care within the bureaucracy of health care systems.

In Fighting for the Soul of General Practice, two practicing doctors share their experiences of working within the underfunded and highly bureaucratic health system in the United Kingdom. Drawing on years of experience treating a wide range of patients from all backgrounds, they show what is lost when regulation overrules relationships, standard practice eliminates discretion, and algorithms displace personal attention. While acknowledging that bureaucracy is inevitable and important, they argue for an approach to medicine that is about creating meaning for doctor and patient and that privileges connection, attention, and care within each encounter.
 

About the Authors

Rupal Shah is a doctor in London and associate dean for Health Education England.

Jens Foell is a doctor and academic.