Meet Dr Dan Wright, Medical Director at The Wright Practice

My academic background is slightly unusual for a doctor. I initially studied English at Trinity College Dublin, graduating with a BA (Hons) and subsequently completing an MA in English, before going on to study medicine at St George’s University.

After qualifying, I undertook further postgraduate training in Miami before returning to the UK. I completed my GP training through Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey.

My qualifications include MD, MRCGP, MA and BA (Hons).

I have been a GP for 15 years. I began my career in the NHS and spent a significant part of my career working in NHS general practice before moving increasingly into private medicine.

I now run The Wright Practice and am Medical Director of 101 Harley Street, a private day-case hospital. My work ranges from traditional family medicine and everyday general practice through to preventative health, complex medical assessments and coordinating care with specialists.

I was attracted to general practice because of its extraordinary breadth. I like being the first person somebody comes to with a problem and having to consider the whole patient rather than focusing on one particular organ system.

Private medicine has allowed me to practise general medicine in the way I most enjoy: having enough time with patients, being accessible, providing continuity and being able to investigate things properly when necessary.

The Wright Practice grew from wanting to create the sort of GP service I would want for myself and my own family – personal, accessible and thorough, but also pragmatic.

My main interest remains comprehensive general practice, particularly preventative medicine and identifying health problems early.

I have particular interests in health screening and longevity, cardiovascular risk reduction, weight management and metabolic health, men’s health and testosterone replacement, women’s health and menopause, sexual health, hormone medicine and musculoskeletal medicine.

I particularly enjoy looking after patients over the longer term. People rarely fit neatly into a single medical box, and I enjoy putting together their symptoms, medical history, family history and lifestyle to develop a sensible overall plan.

Alongside everyday general practice, I regularly provide comprehensive health assessments, cardiovascular and metabolic risk assessment, sexual health screening, vaccinations, weight-management treatment, HRT and men’s health consultations.

I also provide office-based treatments including joint injections and regenerative treatments such as PRP, as well as IV treatments including iron infusions and NAD+.

Preventative medicine has become increasingly important to me during my career. Traditional medicine is often very good at treating disease once it appears, but there is a great deal we can do before somebody becomes unwell.

I am particularly interested in understanding an individual’s cardiovascular, metabolic and cancer risk and using appropriate screening, lifestyle changes and medical treatment to reduce those risks.

The aim isn’t to medicalise healthy people. It is to identify the things that genuinely matter, ignore the things that don’t, and intervene where there is good reason to do so.

Personal, pragmatic and thorough.

I try to listen carefully, understand what the patient is actually worried about and explain my thinking clearly. I don’t think medicine should be unnecessarily complicated.

Patients should leave knowing what I think is happening, what we’re going to do about it and why.

Being a good listener, having broad medical knowledge and getting to know your patients.

A good doctor also needs to recognise the limits of their own expertise. Part of the skill is knowing what can be managed simply, what needs investigating and when somebody needs the input of the right specialist.

It is enormously rewarding when somebody initially comes to see you with one problem and, years later, you have become the doctor they contact whenever they or their family need medical advice.

Continuity is a huge part of good general practice. Knowing someone’s medical history is useful, but knowing the person behind it is often just as important. Over time you understand their normal health, their family circumstances, what worries them and how they prefer to approach medical decisions.

I hope it feels relaxed and unhurried. I don’t want patients to feel that they have to present one perfectly defined problem or that the clock is constantly ticking.

We will talk through what’s going on, work out what needs investigating and agree a plan together. I’m very happy for patients to ask questions, and I would always rather explain why I am recommending something than simply tell somebody what to do.

Family life is a big part of my time outside work, and I have always loved sport and being outdoors. I am particularly drawn to anything involving the water – especially sailing and kitesurfing – and will generally have a go at almost any water sport. I also play tennis and golf, love travelling and am a keen reader.

Literature has always been particularly important to me. Reading has remained a lifelong interest and, looking back, I think studying literature also taught me something valuable about listening to people and understanding the individual story behind what they are telling you.