WHY I’M WORRIED ABOUT . . .

HAND-on-the-door syndrome is what we doctors call it — that point when a patient on the verge of leaving the consultation room nervously reveals what really drove them to seek an appointment with us in the first place.

It wasn’t, in fact, the painful knee they spent five minutes discussing earlier, rather it is something that they feel so embarrassed or scared by, it has taken them time to pluck up the courage to mention.

Which is why I cannot see how the scheme involving group appointments of up to 15 patients currently being piloted (as highlighted in the Mail yesterday) will do anything to improve the health of the nation. A medical consultation with a doctor is a private occasion and should remain so.