GPs are not work-shy

as a GP, I start consulting at 8.10am and I don’t stop until 11am. I then spend an hour speaking to patients on the phone and signing prescriptions before visiting a nursing home, or people in their own homes. I write up the home visits then write referrals, look at blood results and process letters from hospitals. I may speak to a community nurse or palliative care worker.

I eat lunch at my desk. I start consulting again at 2pm and don’t stop until 5pm or 6.30pm. I then write the referrals and process the outcomes from my afternoon surgery, which can take 90 minutes. I leave work between 7pm and 8pm. During the day, I’ll have been concentrating, analysing, processing, communicating and caring for 11 hours non-stop. It’s rewarding — but it’s tough.

We work exceptionally hard: on most days, contrary to recent reports, we have no break at all. The deadlock between the public, politicians and healthcare workers over the NHs won’t be solved while people continue to believe such untruths. DR CHARLOTTE ALEXANDER,

London SW1.