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The 'heartsink' patient revisited. The Welsh Philosophy And General Practice discussion Group

Butler, Christopher Collett ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0102-3453 and Evans, M. 1999. The 'heartsink' patient revisited. The Welsh Philosophy And General Practice discussion Group. British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) 49 (440) , pp. 230-233.

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Abstract

The term 'heartsink patient' is now part of the vocabulary of general practice. But what and where is the heartsink? How should the phenomenon be studied? What are the implications of differing interpretations for general practice? The heartsink patient presents personal, social, and soteriological (pertaining to salvation) problems in physical terms. This poses a fundamental challenge to the philosophical foundations of general practice. Emphasizing a biomedical role justifies questioning the legitimacy of 'heartsinks' as patients. Alternatively, general practice should reassert its acceptance of suffering, whatever its origin and presentation. This would justify accommodating a far greater range of problems than simply those explained by biomedicine alone, and make general practice soteriological to the core.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Medicine
Systems Immunity Research Institute (SIURI)
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
ISSN: 0960-1643
Last Modified: 25 Oct 2022 09:41
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/59632

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