Public health is ‘the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society’ (World Health Organization (WHO), 2022). If you take away the ‘organised efforts of society’ part, you would be forgiven for thinking this sentence might be describing general practice, because this is what we do too, isn’t it? We work on preventing disease through vaccinations, screening, health checks, targeted disease screening. And what are our aims if not to prolong life and promote health? Ok, we also diagnose, treat disease, educate, comfort, reassure, etc., but the point is that the aims of general practice and public health are not mutually exclusive. As a GP trainee who has recently completed a public health rotation, I may be somewhat biased. However, I believe that by understanding each other’s role and working together we will be able to get the best out of each other. So, what role does a GP have to play in public health? Well, as already referred to, we take part in the delivery of public health interventions such as vaccination and screening. We also notify of infectious disease outbreaks and work with the health protection teams to investigate and increase awareness of notifiable communicable diseases. We are the linchpin in the diagnosis, management and recording of chronic non-communicable diseases.
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