ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2022
UK newspapers 'on the warpath': media analysis of general practice remote consulting in 2021.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- What patients want from access to UK general practice: systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of the clinically oriented roles of a general practice receptionist: a systematic review with narrative synthesis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Pooled it
- English general practice in a period of change: a mixed-methods study of staff and patient perspectives.BJGP open · 2026Article
- Understanding the contextual and causal factors shaping the work of receptionists in general practice: a realist review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Exploring the GP-patient relationship: a historical narration.Medical humanities · 2025Article
- Factors affecting cancer care delivery in primary care: a qualitative study.Family practice · 2025Article
- Media depictions of primary care teleconsultation safety: a thematic analysis of UK newspapers.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Article
- Patient safety in remote primary care encounters: multimethod qualitative study combining Safety I and Safety II analysis.BMJ quality & safety · 2024Article
- "Heliyon · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFollowing a large-scale, pandemic-driven shift to remote consulting in UK general practice in 2020, 2021 saw a partial return to in-person consultations. This occurred in the context of extreme workload pressures because of backlogs, staff shortages, and task shifting.
aimTo study media depictions of remote consultations in UK general practice at a time of system stress. DESIGN AND
settingThematic analysis of national newspaper articles about remote GP consultations from two time periods: 13-26 May 2021, following an NHS England letter, and 14-27 October 2021, following a government-backed directive, both stipulating a return to in-person consulting.
methodArticles were identified through, and retrieved from, LexisNexis. A coding system of themes and narrative devices was developed iteratively to inform data analysis.
resultsIn total, 25 articles reported on the letter and 75 on the directive. Newspaper coverage of remote consulting was strikingly negative. The right-leaning press in particular praised the return to in-person consultations, depicting remote care as creating access barriers and compromising safety. Two newspapers led national campaigns pressuring the government to require GPs to offer in-person consultations. GPs were quoted as reluctant to return to an 'in-person by default' service (as it would further pressurise a system already close to breaking point).
conclusionRemote consultations have become associated in the media with poor practice. Some newspapers were actively leading the 'war' on general practice rather than merely reporting on it. Proactive dialogue between practitioners and the media might help minimise polarisation and improve perceptions around general practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.