A cure for the trolls
The doctor discusses why he’s a firm believer in inclusivity and how he’s too busy to be affected by TV stardom
Being in the spotlight has not always been easy for Dr Amir Khan, GP and resident doctor for ITV’s Lorraine and Good Morning Britain. “I have been trolled and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t affected by negative comments on Twitter (now X), although I get less of them now,” said the genial doctor, 42, who remains a full-time GP in his hometown of Bradford.
His latest book, How Families Are Made, aimed at six to nine-year-olds, is an exploration of different families and includes heterosexual couples, step-parents, adoptive parents and same-sex couples, as well as a gentle introduction to how babies are made.
The main message in the book, though, is inclusivity – something close to Amir’s heart.
As a child of Asian immigrants, he was born in Bradford, the son of a bus driver and a social worker. He is proud of his British Pakistani heritage but has encountered racism throughout his life. “I think anyone from a marginalised background has encountered some form of prejudice and racism and I have certainly encountered that throughout my life growing up and even now. I’ve had patients refuse to see me because I’m an Asian doctor.”
When Amir stands up for animal rights or voices his views against hunting for pleasure, he’s attacked on social media.
“I get a whole barrage of racist abuse about how I don’t understand British culture and British values, even though I’m very British. It’s sad, but you learn to live alongside it.”
However, the social media trolls don’t deter Amir from putting across his views.
“For the past 13 years, the country has been ravaged by this government and the NHS has been completely dismantled,” he said. “I’ve been working in the NHS for 20 years and I’ve known the good times but now it’s bad – bad for patients and bad for the people who work in it.”
Despite this, Amir said he wouldn’t consider going into private practice at this point in time.
“I’m NHS through and through and firmly believe in healthcare free at the point of need. And where I work, you see why that’s so important.”
The diversity of families in his book mirror those he sees in his Bradford clinic, he said, stressing the importance of introducing children to facts before they’re exposed to misinformation and inappropriate content online.
There’s been an upsurge in patients wanting an appointment with him at his surgery since his TV debut on Channel 5’s GPs: Behind Closed Doors but Amir doesn’t consider himself famous.
“I’m still working in the same surgery that I’ve always worked at, I still live in the same area where I’ve always lived,’ he explained. “What has changed is that I work with people who I used to see on television, which I still find really mind-blowing.
“I go down to London on a Thursday night after being on call at the surgery, film Good Morning Britain and Lorraine and come back to Bradford and I’m in clinic again by lunchtime. So there’s not any time to reflect – and that probably keeps me grounded.”
How Families Are Made by Dr Amir Khan (Red Shed, £9.99)