NHS treatment ‘influenced by personal appearance’

A new study has claimed that the way a person looks can influence the quality of treatment received from doctors.

Researchers have found that there is a level of unconscious favourability shown by GPs to patients who look wealthier, after presenting them with pictures of parents from different socio-economic backgrounds.

Doctors appeared to choose people who looked younger or wealthier, according to the findings, reported in today’s Journal of Health Services Research.

Dr Dermot O’Reilly, who co-authored the report, said that it is “unfortunate” that people judge other on their appearance.”

“GPs and health workers should be aware of this potential bias and try to offset it in the way they interact with their patients to ensure that deprived patients are not inadvertently further disadvantaged,” he advised.

In particular, doctors were found to offer shorter lengths of time for consultations involving poor people.