Dr Hilary Jones: ‘People always stop me in the street to talk about their ailments!’
Say hello to best’s new columnist, GMB’s resident medic, Dr Hilary Jones – as he chats work, family and Christmas plans…
He’s a popular face on Good Morning Britain and has been working hard for months, giving viewers advice on the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. GMB’s medical expert Dr Hilary Jones, 67, who was awarded an MBE by the Queen last month, was even deemed a ‘hero’ by his proud wife of four years, Dee. So we couldn’t be more delighted to welcome the good doctor as a columnist for best from next week! Here, we talk to the softly spoken medic about these extraordinary times, and how excited he is to help readers with their health problems…
Dr Hilary, it’s great to have you on board!
Thank you! I’m looking forward to addressing best readers’ questions. There will be the straightforward ones, but also interesting ones that demand answers not necessarily found in medical textbooks, or easily resolved in a GP surgery. This is particularly true in this pandemic, as confusion and contradictory guidance abounds. Even the experts seem baffled. I hope I can provide the necessary reassurance and accurate perspective that will help put people’s minds at rest and help them get through this.
Do people often stop you in the street?
People stop me all the time to ask about their various complaints and ailments – including my ITV colleagues! I call them ‘corridor consultations’. Usually, I encourage people to talk to their own GPs, but right now that’s difficult, so I’m happy to help. The strangest encounter I had recently was on a busy train, and the conductor checking tickets recognised me. He told me he was due to have a colonoscopy the following morning and in a very loud voice asked me ‘what was involved’. The whole carriage went silent to listen in. As you can imagine… I kept it vague.
Your family must be very proud…
Unfortunately for them, their friends and colleagues mention seeing me on TV quite a lot. They must be fed up with it! But yes, I think they’re pleased that I’m
across all the news and doing a decent enough job that most people seem to appreciate. I know I can’t please all the people all of the time, but I carefully research what I say.
How do you see the situation in this ‘second wave’ of Coronavirus?
We know more about the virus now than we did just a few months ago. We’re testing more, treatment has improved. A vaccine may be on the horizon. Many get no symptoms, especially the very young, and most others only have moderate symptoms. It’s the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions that most need to take care – and by and large, they are. I just wish the minority who deny the virus even exists would think about the consequences of it threatening the ability of the NHS to cope – not just with Covid-19 but cancer, heart disease and all the other problems it deals with.
How has this crisis affected you personally?
In a different way to most, probably! Communicating messages about public health is what I do – so I’ve been busy trying to get it spot on. My social life ( bar a brief staycation in August – thanks, Willerby holiday homes!) has been pretty much on hold. But I’ve kept in good contact with family and friends.
It’s been tough for families, being separated…
It has, but it’s also proved that there’s a lot of love to go around, between generations. The biggest challenge for me has been making sure my elderly mum is OK. She was a little poorly during the first lockdown, but things are getting better! I kept in touch with my lovely grandkids through Zoom.
Has it felt good to continue work on GMB throughout?
It has. The whole team on ITV breakfast – Piers, Susanna and Lorraine – we’re all close and super supportive of each other. We’ll share our own worries about the pandemic, just like everybody else – we are only human, after all! But it’s been a total privilege to help guide people through this.
Are you looking forward to Christmas?
I love Christmas, it’s a great time to socialise and meet up with family. We’ve not made any plans yet – we can’t know where we will be with the pandemic and I don’t want anyone to be disappointed. Usually we have a wild time at home, but if large gatherings from different households is ill-advised, we’ll have to meet up online, call each other and make sure next Christmas is an even bigger, wilder one to compensate!