Getting To Know… Dr Hilary Jones

From GP to TV, Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary tells us why we should take part in the BHF’s DECHOX campaign

● I love the cut and thrust of live TV and radio and having to think on my feet! It’s a lot of fun meeting people from all walks of life with different things to say.

● The role of a TV doctor can be far reaching and powerful! A GP can see one patient at a time in their surgery but a TV doctor can reach millions of people. It’s a different skill. I was never going to be the most brilliant scientist, but I wasn’t too bad at communication and as a result of my philosophy of treating ever ybody as if I was treating my own mother I developed a half decent bedside manner.

● I wish people could understand that medicine is not a pure science and that diagnosis cannot be 100% certain all of the time. Because of constraints of time and staffing levels the system forces doctors and nurses to take shortcuts just to get through the day and to see the number of patients who need to be seen. I wish people understood the value they get from the NHS so the small minority who abuse the system should refrain.

● Most people are ready to step away from the selection box by the time New Year comes around and The British Heart Foundation’s DECHOX is a fun way to challenge yourself and raise funds for the BHF’s life-saving research Last year, 19,000 people took part and raised an incredible £1million.

To sign up to the British Heart Foundation’s DECHOX campaign for February, visit WWW.BHF.ORG.UK/DECHOX