Doctors are furious with veteran media commentator Mike Carlton, after he complained about GP waiting times and then lashed out at “cranky” medicos who tried to explain why delays occur.

During the stoush, which took place on social media, Mr Carlton said some doctors treated patients like “cattle” and accused one of having “infantile comprehension”.

The drama started when Mr Carlton, an author, columnist and former 2UE broadcaster, questioned on Twitter if every doctor had taken a course on “how to be late for patients”.

After anaesthetist Dr Katarina Arandjelovic pointed out the comment was “really nasty”, he explained he had missed meeting his child after school because his GP had run 45 minutes late: