Care of children in general practice.

When I began in general practice 25 years ago, it was held that maternity care was the foundation on which general practice was built. To a degree this is still true, except that today what matters most to the GP is not the actual delivery but the health of the child himself. In Britain one-quarter of all general practice consultations are concerned with children. GPs are consulted about children over 50 million times each year; that is 2000 consultations a year for each GP ; 40 a week, or eight each working day.