One Makes More Sense Than Eight

"one, two, three, four....eight! There are eight clinics around us!" my daughter counted excitedly one Sunday when we were strolling at our neighbourhood centre. She must be wondering if Singaporeans in our estate are all so sick that they needed 8 GPs to serve them. In my mind, I was wondering how my 8 colleagues are going to survive. At its peak, there were actually 11 GP clinics here. Three, including one belonging to one of my classmates, have bowed out over the last 10 years. Very often too, most of these 8 clinics are empty and open very long hours. I see the clinics open in the mornings on my day off, I see them open in the afternoon on my way home and I see them opened on weekends when I bring my family out for dinner. My wife thought that these GPs are super human. At one point, she even considered me lazy as I worked only short hours and a few days a week. Thankfully, she now appreciates that I spend time at home more than the clinic. My eldest son who is reading business at a local polytechnic once wondered aloud why GPs have no business sense? Probing his thoughts further, he said the obvious. "Why can't the 8 GPs open one clinic with 8 consultation rooms and pay one landlord instead of eight?" That was a gem. I was both proud and pleased with his observation and comment. So, why are we GPs not co-operating and sharing a premise and pay lower rent? Instead, why are we opening next to each other and always at the mercy of the landlord?