Primary and acute care
General practice expert witnesses
Listed general practice expert witnesses address consultation, diagnosis, prescribing, referral and follow-up in primary care. The standard applied is that of a reasonably competent general practitioner working within a consultation of ordinary length.
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The evidence
What a general practice expert witness is asked to determine
Primary care records are brief by design, and much of the evidence turns on what a short entry can be taken to establish. Repeat consultations, prescribing history, referral letters and results filing often carry more weight than any single note.
- Whether the history taken and examination performed were adequate for the symptoms presented.
- Whether red-flag features were identified and acted upon at the consultation where they first appeared.
- Whether referral, investigation or review was arranged within an appropriate period.
- Whether prescribing, monitoring and medication review met the expected standard.
- Whether results, letters and safety-netting advice were handled and recorded adequately.
Practitioners are listed across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Location can be narrowed in the register’s location listings before an instruction is made.
Claim contexts
Claims that instruct this discipline
These links describe the question general practice evidence can answer. They do not prescribe the scope of an individual instruction.
Clinical negligence claims
Diagnosis, referral and prescribing decisions taken in primary care.
View claim type → 02Road traffic accident claims
Primary care records of injury, treatment and continuing symptoms after a collision.
View claim type → 03Personal injury claims
The primary care history against which injury and prognosis are assessed.
View claim type →Search the register by the discipline used in the instruction.
See general practice listingsReport routes
Reports prepared
The primary care record is the starting point for most instructions, and a records review report can establish the chronology before any further evidence is obtained. A breach and causation report then addresses the consultation criticised and the outcome said to follow.
Where continuing symptoms are in issue, a condition and prognosis report from the relevant treating specialty usually sits alongside the primary care opinion.
General practice expert witness evidence
A GP expert witness assesses the consultation record against the presentation documented, and identifies where the primary care question ends and a specialty opinion is required.
Practitioners can be filtered by discipline and by location, and are approached directly about an instruction. See guidance from Royal College of General Practitioners alongside the case material.
Directory search
General Practice listings
GP Expert Witness Cases & Claims
Related expert witness specialties
Questions answered
Frequently asked questions
Will a General Practice expert witness respond to Part 35 questions?
Yes - CPR 35.6 entitles the parties to put written questions on a report, and answering them is part of the expert's duty to the court. A General Practice report prepared for proceedings in England and Wales carries the Part 35 statement of truth, with equivalent duties applying in the other UK jurisdictions.
Can a General Practice expert act as a single joint expert?
Where the court directs a single joint expert under CPR 35.7, the instruction is agreed between the parties and put jointly - a routine basis of instruction in this field. Whether a particular practitioner accepts SJE appointments is confirmed with the practitioner at the enquiry stage.
Will the expert attend joint discussions or give evidence at trial?
Where the court directs discussions between experts under CPR 35.12, they meet and produce a joint statement of what is agreed and what is disputed; attendance at trial - in person or by video link - is likewise a matter of court direction. These commitments are confirmed with the practitioner at instruction.
Can I choose a General Practice expert of a specific gender, or one who assesses remotely?
Yes on both counts. Every listing displays the practitioner's gender, consulting locations and assessment types - face to face, remote or both - so sensitive-instruction preferences can be applied at the shortlisting stage, before any contact is made.