Media reporting accusing GPs of rorting Medicare was the final straw for neurologist Dr Craig Costello.

After trawling through the endless coverage he decided to add his voice and fired off a letter in support of his battered and bruised colleagues, warning they had become a “punching bag” for journalists.

“Experiencing a day in a GP’s work would provide understanding and context before one publishes the next clickbait,” he wrote.

“When was the last time you asked your hairdresser to throw in the foils, your cafe to give you your coffee at cost, your tradie to throw in the materials, or your lawyer, not to bill you? Never?”