Scripts & Phrases
for the GP Consultation

"Come in, take a seat. I'm [name], one of the GPs here today. It's good to meet you. What's brought you in?"

"Hello — I'm Dr [name]. I've had a quick look at your notes, but I'd love to hear it in your own words. What's been going on?"

💡 This signals you've prepared, but makes clear you're interested in their account, not just the records.

"Hi there, good to meet you. I'm [name]. What would you like to talk about today?"

💡 Simple and open. Works well for patients who want to feel in control of the agenda.

"Come in, sit down. Before we start — is there anything in particular you were hoping to cover today, or shall we just see where the conversation goes?"

💡 Excellent for complex patients or those who might have more than one issue. Prevents the dreaded "oh, and one more thing…" at minute eleven.

"Good to see you again. How have things been since we last spoke? What's on your mind today?"

"Tell me what's been going on."

💡 Deceptively powerful. Short, open, non-directive. Gives the patient complete freedom to start wherever feels right to them.

"Take me back to when this first started. What happened?"

"Help me understand the whole picture — in your own words, what's been going on?"

"That's really helpful, thank you. Is there anything else about this that you think I should know before I ask you a few more specific questions?"

💡 This is the bridge between the narrative and your targeted clinical questions. Never skip it — the answer is often the most important thing said in the consultation.

"Go on…" / "Tell me more about that." / "And then what happened?"

💡 Brief facilitating responses that keep the story flowing without directing it. Use with a nod, not a notebook.

"What's your own sense of what might be causing this?"

"Not really? Sounds like there might be something…?"

💡 "Not really" almost always means yes. Gently invite further with a raised eyebrow and a pause.

"For example — has someone said something to you about it, or did you read anything online?"

💡 Giving concrete prompts often helps patients who have an idea but feel embarrassed to share it unprompted.

"What's your main worry about this?"

"Sometimes people have something specific at the back of their mind — is that true for you?"

"When you lie awake at night thinking about this — what's the thing that runs through your head?"

💡 Particularly powerful for patients who are minimising their anxiety. The night-time framing bypasses defence mechanisms.

"What were you hoping I might be able to do for you today?"

"What would a good outcome from today's appointment look like for you?"

"Is there something specific you had in mind when you made this appointment?"

"How is all of this affecting your day-to-day life?"

💡 The single most important PSO question. It opens the door to work, family, relationships, and wellbeing without being intrusive.

"What does a typical day look like for you at the moment?"

💡 Particularly useful in mental health, chronic pain, and fatigue presentations. Reveals functional capacity without a direct questionnaire.

"How has this been affecting your work / your family / your home life?"

"Is there anything else going on in your life at the moment that might be adding to how you're feeling?"

💡 A gentle invitation that often unlocks the real story — the bereavement they didn't mention, the relationship difficulty, the job loss.

"How are you coping with all of this?"

"Thank you — that's really helpful. I want to make sure I don't miss anything, so I'm going to ask you a few more specific questions now."

💡 Always signal the gear-change. Patients become more cooperative with targeted questions when they understand why you're asking them.

"On a scale of 0 to 10 — with 10 being the worst pain you could imagine — where is this for you?"

"Has anything made it better? And has anything made it worse?"

"Have you ever had anything like this before? And if so — what happened then?"

"Are there any other symptoms that have come along with this — even ones that seem unrelated?"

"I want to ask you a few questions that might seem a bit unrelated to what you've described — but I ask everyone with these kinds of symptoms, just to be thorough. Is that okay?"

💡 This framing prevents panic. "I ask everyone" is genuinely reassuring and accurate.

"Have you noticed any blood anywhere — in your stools, your urine, when you cough, or anywhere else?"

"Any unintentional weight loss recently — clothes feeling looser, that sort of thing? And any night sweats — waking up soaked through?"

"How's your appetite been? And have you had any difficulty swallowing?"

"Those are all the specific questions I needed to ask. I'm glad you told me — none of those are things I'm immediately concerned about, but I wanted to check."

💡 Closing the red flag screen reassures the patient and shows good clinical reasoning. Don't just move on silently after asking — acknowledge what you found (or didn't).

"Based on what you've told me and what I've found, the most likely explanation is…"

"I want to explain what I think is going on — and then I'd love to hear what you think about that."

💡 The second half of this sentence is the magic. It transforms an explanation into a conversation.

"I want to be honest with you — at this stage I can't be completely certain, but my best assessment is… Here's how I'd like to confirm that."

"Does that make sense so far? Is there any part of that you'd like me to explain differently?"

"I know you mentioned earlier that you were worried it might be [X]. I want to address that directly. The reason I'm reasonably reassured it isn't [X] is…"

💡 This is the ICE pay-off. Eliciting concerns without addressing them is worse than not asking at all. Close the loop every time.

"I can understand why you thought it might be [X] — and it's a reasonable thing to wonder. What I can tell you is that [X] would typically also show [Y], and we haven't seen that here."

"I haven't forgotten what you said about worrying it might be [X]. What I can say is that I'm not seeing the features that would make me think that's the most likely explanation — but I do want to do a couple of tests to make sure we don't miss anything."