A Scots doctor who has written a book on his experiences of the pandemic has said the last two years have caused people to lose "the art of getting better slowly".
Dr. Gavin Francis, who works at the Dalkeith Road Medical Practice Edinburgh, penned "Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence" with a focus on giving advice and guidance to anyone who needs it.
He also blamed "the damaging effects of repeated lockdowns" for taking its toll on everyone and not just patients who have been recovering from having coronavirus.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, the GP said: "I think that with the advent of really effective drugs in the 50s and 60s, antibiotics, steroids, inhalers, good antidepressants, we've just had a kind of creep towards deciding that all you really need to recover is the right prescription.
"But my experience of working 20 years in the medical profession is actually the reverse, that people often need guidance, encouragement and reassurance through the process of convalescence.
"Because it takes energy, respect and people have to take care over the environment in which they're recovering and there’s lots and lots of ways of recovery, even when you have a condition itself which isn’t curable or terminal.
"We can still build towards a life of more dignity, autonomy, respect and set achievable goals."
Discussing his latest book, he added: "I have spent so much time in the last two years of this miserable pandemic talking about recovery to my patients, from covid itself, to the damaging effects of repeated lockdowns.
"So I wanted to write a book about illness and recovery about healing and convalescence that put all that advice, guidance and reflection into one place - one short, accessible, easy book."
Dr. Francis has also written six non-fiction books with "Intensive Care: A GP, a Community & a Pandemic" hailed as a touching account of care following the effects of Covid-19.
Another, "Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession" features a blend of stories on his travels with psychology, philosophy and literature.
Dr. Francis qualified in medicine from Edinburgh in 1999, then spent ten years travelling, visiting all seven continents
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
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