An article by an anonymous GP in Medical Observer last month (‘Dear specialist, I am a GP, not your community intern‘) seems to have triggered comments from right across general practice.

I would like to extend the spotlight to surgeons, who also seem to think we are interns, fresh out of medical school.

In particular, I’m talking about the role they think we play in performing their postoperative care.

I have known surgeons who routinely refer their patients back to us — my GP colleagues and me — for pain assessment, wound care and removal of stitches, believing it is the GP’s responsibility.