Time with a doctor is increasingly hard to find, but what would your doctor say to you if you had time for a good chat?
The average length of a doctor’s appointment in the UK is only 9.2 minutes. That’s about the length of two pop songs. And it is a considerably shorter time than in other developed nations.
A recent report by the Royal College of General Practitioners suggested that all appointments should be at least 15 minutes. But even that is not very long.
To make matters worse, many doctors’ surgeries stress that you must limit each appointment to one health query, rather than discuss multiple problems at once.
So it is no surprise that many of us don’t discuss all the things we need to or should do with our doctor.
There are other issues that hamper precious time with your doctor, too. For many patients, it can be hard to open up about personal health problems, and it is easy to hold back information, worries or symptoms.
Sometimes that is because we don’t want to waste the doctor’s time or seem silly. And sometimes it is because we already know there is a problem and don’t want to confront it.
Often patients will see a different doctor each time, so it is hard to build up trust and a rapport with a doctor if you have never spoken to them before. They are, after all, a total stranger.
It is worth remembering that this time problem is not great for doctors either. Any good doctor wants their patients to be healthy and happy.
There may be lots of things your doctor wishes they could tell you and talk to you about. But they just won’t have time on the day.
So what if you could have a good honest chat with your doctor when time was not so limited? We asked Dr Sheikh Mateen Ellahi of Elm Tree Medical Centre to reveal all the things doctors would like you to know, so you can protect your health today and for the future.
Check your symptoms earlier
When it comes to symptoms of illness, I wish people came to their GP earlier. Sometimes, symptoms are ignored for a few weeks, and then suddenly something happens, and it's urgent. It could be ongoing fatigue, unexplained weight loss or changes in bowel habit.
The typical scenario is someone will say: ‘I didn't want to bother you, doc’. Reassurance is much better and safer than waiting on your symptoms.
Build healthy daily habits
From my point of view as a GP, most health problems that I see in the clinic aren't really about lack of knowledge.
Right now, you can use AI or Google, and most people have phones with them. The knowledge is there for most people. It's really about small habits done consistently.
For example, I wish people thought less about exercise and more about just moving. Most people think that if they don't have time to go to the gym, there's no point doing any exercise. That's not the way to look at it. Most people, including myself as a GP, are sitting in a room nearly all day.
What I've tried to do is incorporate going upstairs for a coffee, going for a short walk, even if it's for 10 minutes, trying to go through the reception area to call the patients rather than asking the patients to come to me.
All of these small things add up. Even walking 20–30 minutes every day would improve a person’s energy, sleep, mood and long–term health.
Eat more fibre and protein
I would like my patients to eat more fibre. It is in vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Most people think about calories or protein, but fibre gets forgotten.
Add a portion of veg to your lunch. Swap white carbs for whole grains. Add beans to your meals. Because fibre does play a huge role in your gut system.
Try to have protein earlier in the day, too, especially at breakfast and lunch. I often see people have toast or cereal for breakfast and then they feel hunger mid–morning. A better approach would be eggs or yoghurt and nuts for breakfast to keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Improve sleep health
One of the biggest aspects I've noticed in my own life, when my health wasn't well, was that my sleep was bad. We know about diet and exercise, but actually sleep is probably the most underrated part of health.
A lack of sleep can cause anxiety. It's been proven to cause depression and low mood. It can cause secondary effects such as weight gain, poor concentration during the day and chronic fatigue. And often the cause is simple.
In my case, it was late-night screen time: watching television, having a phone less than half a foot in front of my eyes.
It was also my irregular sleep patterns – sometimes sleeping at 2am, sometimes sleeping at 10pm. So have a regular sleep pattern. Your sleep cycle is regulated in your brain, and if you can regulate that it is much better for your health.
Don’t drink too much alcohol
We always hear about drinking less alcohol, but what does drinking less alcohol actually mean? Fourteen units over four days is what we always talk about as medical doctors. It's about six pints of average strength beer, or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.
Most people don't do extreme drinking. It's mainly a couple of drinks most evenings. But if you add all of that up, it often adds up to more than 14 units.
Then you have poor sleep, you have weight gain, you have low mood, low energy and poorer overall health.
- Read more: Should you cut down on drinking? Understanding the impact of alcohol on health and fitness
Know your numbers
We have a huge push in the NHS about knowing your numbers. Knowing your numbers means knowing your blood pressure, knowing your waist circumference, knowing your weight and knowing your family history. Are you able to target your health in a way where you're at most risk?
Focus your diet and exercise around those areas, and you will reduce your chances of problems. So, if you have a family history of high cholesterol, get a cholesterol check.
And then look at the trends of your numbers as well: the trends of your weight, the trends of your blood pressure, and not just an odd number every six months.
Build strength
At a conference recently, a speaker said: "I teach my mum to do squats in her 40s and 50s, so she can go to the toilet independently in her 60s."
Strength is one of the most overlooked parts of health. We always think strength is for 20–year–olds.
But, actually, strength training is really, really important for metabolism, joint health and long–term independence. Even basic bodyweight exercises, like press–ups or sit–ups, can make a real difference, and then just add small weights onto that.
Focus on your mental health
Be aware of your mental health and how stress can impact you. Stress can show up as physical symptoms.
Stress because of work, stress because of home life, can present as headaches, chest discomfort, irritable bowel syndrome and fatigue.
So, think about how can you help with that? Seek medical advice, seek counselling. I think the biggest barrier sometimes is masculinity. Men are not wanting to seem weaker. I would rather men came in earlier with their problems.
Be honest
We can only help with what we know. It can be hard to be transparent with a doctor. But everything stays confidential.
So don’t under–report your alcohol, don't say you are taking medications when you are not, and don’t downplay symptoms.
Focus on one change at a time
How many people have you seen saying they saw a motivational video online and said, ‘Okay, right, I'm going to do the gym six times a week, or eat this diet'. It never works.
I see people trying to fix everything, literally, in one go. It lasts either two days or two weeks and stops.
A better approach would be to pick one thing, even if it's a morning walk. Just start with that. Do that for about three to four weeks, and then add on to it.
