Following intense debate, politicians have recently taken a scalpel to the NHS, but whether this is cosmetic surgery or a life-saving operation remains to be seen. With £65 billion of NHS funding flowing through the arteries of 211 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) from April, the media and the public will undoubtedly be questioning the prognosis.

Dissatisfied patients already seek a second opinion from the media, but from April, GPs will no longer be answering solely for themselves or their practice. As a vital organ, GPs will be required to safeguard the reputation of the CCG as a whole. While it’s often hard to criticise an individual, it’s much easier to criticise an organisation.

GPs need to rise to the challenges of dealing with the media. They need to understand what to say, how much to say and when to say it – or their words could become an intravenous drip, feeding media coverage and keeping the story alive. Handling the media is a professional skill with a set of tools and techniques that can be learnt and practiced. Learning this ‘First Aid’ now, could spare GPs and CCGs the casualties of the future.