- Tim Bullamore
- Edinburgh
- timjbullamore{at}gmail.com
John Stuart Brown and Anne Brown
John Stuart Brown was not the first GP to offer minor surgery in his practice, but he was among its greatest champions, combining his training as a surgeon with his well practised people skills. Suturing lacerations, cauterising warts, and treating varicose veins were among his most popular procedures.
In a BMJ paper published in 1979, Brown explained how one doctor doing an average of four minor operations a week could save the local health authority more than £15 000 a year,1 equivalent to £74 000 today. A wedge resection nail bed procedure, for example, could be undertaken in the surgery at a cost of £11.13 compared with £421 for hospital inpatient treatment.
“The advantage to the patient is that there is no delay in obtaining treatment and a time can be offered to fit in with work and holidays,” he said. “The job satisfaction for general practitioner and community nurse is obvious, and purpose built health centres, which in some cases are at present underused, are ideal for the purpose.”
Brown argued his case …
