Family doctors bear the brunt of the huge increased demand with the NHS.
Some go out to meet the new challenge head on. On July 5 1948, Dr Richard Scott, with a nurse, medical assistant, medical social worker and a dentist set up a general medical practice to serve the local community and meet research and teaching needs of Edinburgh University.
Poor standards and GP training in the UK are both highlighted in a Lancet report in 1950. The Royal College of General Practitioners is formed in 1952 to address these concerns.
A second Edinburgh University training practice was set up in the Cowgate. Scott’s appointment as professor in 1963 establishes the world’s first independent department of general practice.
GP training at undergraduate and post graduate level is consolidated across all UK medical schools and proves a model for other healthcare systems.