“The first port of call is always the doctor”: general practitioner roles in addressing social inclusion

To the Editor: Our recent study of disadvantaged rural residents’ perceptions of and experiences with health care highlighted the critically important role of general practitioners in delivering rural health care. In stage two of the study, assessing rural health and welfare needs,1 we sought out research participants who depended on income from government payments. Interviews identified that most participants and their family members had multiple chronic health concerns and relied on GPs as their local accessible health care providers for acute and ongoing treatment. As one participant noted, “the first port of call is always the doctor”, regardless of the circumstances.