As my career as a GP comes to an end, I wonder, ‘Have I been a mug?’
The 31 December will be my last day in general practice. The Seekers’ signature tune The Carnival is Over is an appropriate epitaph.
I’ve had a great career, but it’s gone sour at the end.
To recap, after junior doctor work, I entered general practice in 1971 and was there for 18 years.
Three years of that was pre-Medibank: services to pensioners were paid by the government on a voucher system, and there were only two vouchers for GPs — one for consultations, one for home visits. Everything else — pathology, radiology, specialist consultations — required referral to a public hospital.
