As with all good mainstream media scandals, the story of the Polish GP who flies to Scotland twice a month to cover out-of-hours shifts fails to recognise a few facts.
Yes, the doctor did have a long trip from his Polish home, but he hopefully has a nap on the plane before his four hour drive.
Meanwhile, his UK colleagues may have worked a full day before their out-of-hours shift.
Who is the most tired?
If it is bad for GPs to cover out-of-hours if they are tired, where are all the extra out-of-hours GPs going to come from?
It also raises the question of what will happen if the new extended hours targets are pushed through. Consider a GP who does a couple of weekend or night shifts in the months. Now she is going to have to do an extra Saturday morning or a couple of evening surgeries a week. This will eat into her time with her family and thus she may decide to give up her out-of-hours shifts.
And then what – the return of the Polish flyer?
Bronagh Miskelly is the editor of GP newspaper.
When she's not thinking about the needs of GPs, she is an enthusiastic but inaccurate fencer and likes to travel.