Dr Mark Porter: GPs not the only ones guilty of underreporting side effects

GPs may be guilty for not reporting the side-effects of drugs, but so is the general public

Like most GPs I was rather glad to see the back of 2013, a year in which family doctors were rarely out of the headlines amid reports that we do too little, are paid too much and are at the root of most of the problems plaguing the NHS — from antibiotic-resistant superbugs like MRSA to overburdened A&E departments.

So imagine my horror when I picked up yesterday’s paper to read “Overworked GPs failing to report side-effects of drugs”. Guilty as charged, but I feel duty bound to point out that we are far from alone — plenty of others — from hospital doctors and nurses, to pharmacists and the public — must shoulder their share of blame, and any one of us could end