Farewell Doctor Finlay

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0120160708Doctor Margaret McCartney tells the story of general practice in the UK from the surgeon-apothecaries of the 18th century to the troubled early years of the NHS.

"The history of medicine is the history of general practice," declares historian Martin Edwards - and this programme shows why, starting with the first golden age of general practice in the 18th century when growing affluence meant people could afford to seek out surgeon-apothecaries who did primitive surgery and bloodletting, and dosed patients with powerful purgative drugs.

In 1858, the Medical Act introduced the registration of doctors and created the General Medical Council, which still regulates GPs today.

Legendary GP and medical author Julian Tudor Hart describes how the National Insurance Act of 1911 meant GPs could "prescribe money" in the form of benefits to sick and injured men, at a time when most medicine was ineffective. Only in the 1930s - the period when Dr Finlay's Casebook was set - did a new generation of effective medicines come into being.

The programme also considers how the 1911 Act, the Medical Aid Societies, the Highlands and Islands Medical Service and World War Two laid the foundations for the National Health Service.

Presented by Dr Margaret McCartney

Produced by Mike Hally

A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Dr Margaret McCartney tells the story of general practice from 1750 to the start of NHS.

Dr Margaret McCartney and leading medical historians tell the story of general practice.

012016070820170118 (R4)Doctor Margaret McCartney tells the story of general practice in the UK from the surgeon-apothecaries of the 18th century to the troubled early years of the NHS.

"The history of medicine is the history of general practice," declares historian Martin Edwards - and this programme shows why, starting with the first golden age of general practice in the 18th century when growing affluence meant people could afford to seek out surgeon-apothecaries who did primitive surgery and bloodletting, and dosed patients with powerful purgative drugs.

In 1858, the Medical Act introduced the registration of doctors and created the General Medical Council, which still regulates GPs today.

Legendary GP and medical author Julian Tudor Hart describes how the National Insurance Act of 1911 meant GPs could "prescribe money" in the form of benefits to sick and injured men, at a time when most medicine was ineffective. Only in the 1930s - the period when Dr Finlay's Casebook was set - did a new generation of effective medicines come into being.

The programme also considers how the 1911 Act, the Medical Aid Societies, the Highlands and Islands Medical Service and World War Two laid the foundations for the National Health Service.

Presented by Dr Margaret McCartney

Produced by Mike Hally

A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Dr Margaret McCartney tells the story of general practice from 1750 to the start of NHS.

Dr Margaret McCartney and leading medical historians tell the story of general practice.

0220160715Dr Margaret McCartney, along with medical historians and GPs, tells the story of general practice from the troubled early years of the NHS to the still-troubled present day.

The NHS was a huge improvement for the general population, for hospitals and hospital doctors. But it was rather different for GPs as their private fees disappeared and their workload multiplied with all the chronic disease that had previously gone untreated. General practice was under-funded and under-loved. Scathing reports of dingy, ill-equipped surgeries, along with repeated bouts of GP unrest, finally brought about the Family Doctors Charter in 1966, leading to a much better period of subsidised health centres and staffing.

Modernisation came thick and fast from the late 1980s, with some GPs controversially given budgets to choose services for their patients. Relaxation of the "out of hours" obligation saw practices forming co-operatives to handle evening and weekend calls and, from 2004, the responsibility for providing 24 hour care was removed from GPs entirely.

But unrest has continued, with many training places unfilled, GP posts vacant, and some practices closing altogether. The programme explores how the profession evolved into its present state.

Presented by Dr Margaret McCartney

Produced by Mike Hally

A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Dr Margaret McCartney tells the story of general practice from the 50s to the present day.

Dr Margaret McCartney and leading medical historians tell the story of general practice.

022016071520170125 (R4)Dr Margaret McCartney, along with medical historians and GPs, tells the story of general practice from the troubled early years of the NHS to the still-troubled present day.

The NHS was a huge improvement for the general population, for hospitals and hospital doctors. But it was rather different for GPs as their private fees disappeared and their workload multiplied with all the chronic disease that had previously gone untreated. General practice was under-funded and under-loved. Scathing reports of dingy, ill-equipped surgeries, along with repeated bouts of GP unrest, finally brought about the Family Doctors Charter in 1966, leading to a much better period of subsidised health centres and staffing.

Modernisation came thick and fast from the late 1980s, with some GPs controversially given budgets to choose services for their patients. Relaxation of the "out of hours" obligation saw practices forming co-operatives to handle evening and weekend calls and, from 2004, the responsibility for providing 24 hour care was removed from GPs entirely.

But unrest has continued, with many training places unfilled, GP posts vacant, and some practices closing altogether. The programme explores how the profession evolved into its present state.

Presented by Dr Margaret McCartney

Produced by Mike Hally

A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

Dr Margaret McCartney tells the story of general practice from the 50s to the present day.

Dr Margaret McCartney and leading medical historians tell the story of general practice.