Doctors' communication skills have come a long way. In my first clinical teaching session at medical school, the professor warned us, “When you talk to patients and they tell you what is wrong with them, sometimes they start crying. It's best just to ignore it; I generally do and they generally stop”.

That was 1975 and it is different now. Communication skills training feature in all UK medical undergraduate courses and examinations. The GMC mandates it. Young general practitioners (GPs) are soaked in communication skills training and even surgeons are tested to see if they can speak civilly to patients in their college examinations. All medical professionals prove their communication competence in annual appraisals, but there is a problem.