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For any interview requests with our team of specialists, please contact our press officer Sarah Bruce-Ball on 020 7631 0090 or 07976 978 683 or by email at sarahj@samedaydoctor.co.uk
SAMEDAYDOCTOR IN THE PRESS
May 2008-The Times
May 2008- Sunday Mirror
May 2008- Walton and Weybridge Informer
May 2008 – FHM Magazine
April 2008 - The Times
March 2008 – Daily Mail
March 2008 – Daily Mail
March 2008 – Chat magazine
People Skills make for special treatment Times April 2008
Anthony Cunliffe, 33, a GP at Sameday Doctor, a private clinic, and an NHS practice
“At the moment I work part-time at a private clinic and at an NHS general practice, but before that I worked as a medical registrar at a hospital. The change to general practice was partly a lifestyle choice: I had worked on weekends and evenings at the hospital for six years and I was no longer getting a buzz out of it. It became more important for me to be in control of my time so I decided to become a GP.
“I really enjoy the continuity of care that I'm now able to offer my patients. There's a stereotype that all you do as a GP is treat colds and coughs but that's not true; you see a range of illnesses. At the private walk-in clinic, patients visit to discuss issues that they don't want to ask their own GP about, such as sexual health problems.
“It sounds obvious but you need good people skills to be a GP. The way that you consult has a great impact on how successful the ten minutes that you're able to spend with an NHS patient can be. Sometimes you've got to read non-verbal cues and body language to get to the bottom of what's really troubling a patient.
“Nowadays, people think that GPs work for a few hours in the morning then play golf all afternoon but it's not like that. At the NHS clinic I have my first consultation at 8.45am and typically see up to 40 patients a day by the time I finish at 6.30pm. When I'm not in surgery seeing patients, I'm doing paperwork, checking test results and making home visits. I don't work evenings or weekends but work is still all-consuming. Over time you build up a more intimate relationship with your patients and their families, so emotionally it's very consuming as well.
“Being a GP is fairly paid, on a par with hospital medicine. If you ... become a partner in a general practice then it's financially more rewarding. However, partnerships are few and far between these days and most new GPs are salaried.”
The Times – May 2008
YES I WAS TESTED – BUT NOT QUITE AS INTENDED
The logic of a DIY prostate-cancer-screening test kit seems impeccable. Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a protein secreted into the blood by the prostate gland. An abnormally raised level of PSA in the blood can be an indication that you have prostate cancer
Well, I’d love to be able to regale you with the results of my prostate self-test, but I can’t. I paid £11.95 online to a Stockport-based supplier called SelfDiagnosis Ltd and waited a few days for my box to arrive in the post. When it did, I tried to flow the instructions – but they defeated me. Not only did I still not know if I had a high PSA level but I felt stupid, too. Surely Dr Hammad Malik of SameDayDoctor, a private clinic with branches in
The little gizmo that you use to prick your finger to draw blood from was of a different sort to the one illustrated in the kit’s instruction book. “The instructions show the type that we use, they’re automatic,” said Dr Malik. “But what you’ve got is a needle you have to jab yourself with – and it’s quite hard to jab yourself.” The killer blow, though, was the vial of test solution not included in my box. Without it there was no way of getting a result. Had it worked, the test would have flagged positive if I’d had a PSA level greater than 4ng/ml. However, PSA levels increase naturally with age, so a level greater than 1.4ng/ml would have been on the high side for me. And that might not have shown up on the test – I wouldn’t have know that if I hadn’t spoken to Dr Malik.
So what is my real prostate cancer risk? Dr Malik took out a large needle and drew some blood from my arm. The next day I received an email – my PSA levels are normal for my age. It cost me £150, along with the consultation, although I could have gone to my NHS GP. Later, Dr Malik phoned. “ Men are becoming more and more aware of prostate problems. A lot of chaps in the know will take a PSA test every year.” I think I will too – but I won’t try to do it myself. Terri Duigenan, from Self Diagnosis Ltd, was aghast when I contacted her: “We tend to try out all the tests ourselves. My husband has done it and he didn’t have a problem with it but we have since changed suppliers. I can’t apologise enough. We would always advise that if you have any worries about your health, you go to see your GP.” She is also providing me with a refund.
Samedaydoctor.co.uk
The Sunday Mirror – May 2008
ARE YOU DRIVING YOUR DOCTOR CRAZY?
I’ve booked an emergency appointment for a mouth ulcer…” Expect gritting of teeth if you bag an emergency slot without good cause. “It’s irritating when somebody turns up with something trivial like an ingrown toenail, “ says Dr Laurence Gerlis of SameDayDoctor.
“There’s no point telling them off, you might as well deal with it and get them out asap”. So what does count as an emergency? “Generally, it’s anything that can’t wait until tomorrow”, says Dr Clare Gerada, vice-chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
“It’s tricky expecting patients to decide what’s an emergency and what’s not. But there’s nothing more annoying when somebody who’s had the same complaint for months shows up at emergency surgery just because they have spare time that day.”
“Do you mind looking at my family member too?” This can be a real pain, admits Dr Gerlis, “I remember being a newly qualified GP and on my very first day a family of eight walked in. If two people have a problem they need two consultants.”
Dr Gerada is a little more lenient: “If it’s just a quick check on a child then fine, but I hate it when everyone else is kept waiting.”
FHM Magazine – May 2008
THE HIV TESTER
Name: Dr Laurence Gerlis (samedaydoctor.co.uk)
Age: 50-something
Where:
How much do you get paid for doing this?
£110 per HIV test, but there are overheads like lab fees
How did you get into it?
The demand was there: I was a GP and found that men were fed up with going to the GUM clinics because of the wait
What are the hours like?
Long. As well as may be 50 in the week – 8am to 7pm – I often do a weekend shift
Describe your typical day
We see a lot of men who’ve been on stag dos, but the vast majority of tests are negative. With gay men we’re getting a few positives every week; it’s devastating for the patient, but rarely a total surprise for them
What are your colleagues like?
They’re a great bunch of specialists. HIV’s dropped off the radar a bit, but people should still be concerned about it
What is the best perk?
It’s never dull. And there’s a buzz when you tell people who think they’re HIV positive that they are not
What causes you the most hassle?
HIV-obsessives. Some people get a negative test and go from one clinic to the next to have another one
Is the job good for meeting woman?
Well, you can’t regard patients as potential dates; you can get struck off for it
Growing up, what was your dream job?
I wanted to be a linguist and work for the UN
March 2008 – Daily Mail
Maureen Lipman's playwright daughter on the shock of discovering she had Bell's Palsy
It was autumn 1998; I was 24 years old and embarking on a career as a playwright.
I was due to begin a year as writer-in-residence at the Royal Exchange Theatre in
In fact, Bell's Palsy is an acquired facial paralysis, typically affecting one side of the face.
It derives its medieval-sounding name not, as I first thought, because early sufferers were obliged to ring a bell to herald their approach, but in honour of Charles Bell (1774-1842), a Scottish surgeon-anatomist known for his guide for artists, Essays On The Anatomy Of Expression In Painting.
Bell's Palsy can take days to fully develop, and the worsening disfigurement is deeply distressing.
Dr Laurence Gerlis, of samedaydoctor, says: "It looks devastating and people often think they have had a stroke because the symptoms are similar although, paradoxically, a stroke affects less of the face and it spares the forehead.
"So Bell's Palsy is awful psychologically, but most people do recover."
March 2008 – Daily Mail
Tired? Don't assume it's your lifestyle - you could be diabetic
Over 60,000 Britons are unaware they have diabetes
Feeling permanently tired is the story of many people's lives.
While most of us put it down to our busy lifestyles, for thousands of Britons chronic tiredness is actually a sign of something far more worrying: diabetes.
Over 60,000 Britons have the condition yet don't know it, according to a study published earlier this month.
A further 500,000 are thought to be "borderline" cases, at risk of developing diabetes.
With advice on healthy eating and exercise, these half-a-million people could be prevented from developing the disease - if they knew they were at risk.
Once it develops, diabetes is still controllable if properly treated. But living with undiagnosed diabetes is extremely dangerous.
As the study's lead researcher, Dr Tim Holt, from
"Diabetes is not a condition to be taken lightly," adds
Dr Laurence Gerlis, Medical Advisor to the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust.
"Every year, 5,000 diabetics have a limb amputation due to nerve damage - that's 100 people a week."
Other long-term complications can include blindness and kidney disease.
Experts agree that the earlier people are diagnosed, the earlier they can get on with managing the condition and reduce the risk of these complications.
The problem is that many patients with undiagnosed diabetes don't have the classic symptoms associated with the disease, such as constant thirst and an increased need to urinate.
In fact, many have no symptoms at all. "Even someone who looks perfectly well, not overweight at all, can be affected," says Dr Gerlis.
Most of the 2.3 million Britons diagnosed with the disease have Type 2 diabetes.
• The Diabetes
