Kas has been a GP in the Northeast of England for the last 16 years.
She has six children in her blended family from the age of 19 to 5 so home life is busy.
Before she moved to the Northeast she lived a nomadic life, spending most of her childhood in Nepal and India where her parents worked as doctors for an NGO. Some of her earliest memories are of accompanying her mother on long hiking trails to remote villages in Nepal where her mother provided health care to local people without access to any. The kind fortitude of the people they encountered, and the awesome beauty of the country had an enduring impact, planting the seeds of the desire to help others and explore our planet. She had a wonderful experience, making lifelong friendships at Woodstock International School in India before returning to the UK for her A levels in Bath and then medical school at the University at Manchester.
This is a unique story. It is the story of a doctor and the many patients she sees every day. A tale of the diversity of life, the uniqueness of individuals and the impact of deprivation on the health of society.
It is a book about being human, the challenge of being on the front line, trying to heal with kindness while fighting an inexorably rising tide of need. The crisis in general practice is in its ascendancy. Overworked GPs are burning out and leaving in droves. At the heart of the NHS, GPs are the entry point for healthcare in the UK, the champions of patients and guardians of the gates to specialists. A role that is essential, but not always understood or appreciated.
We will all meet disease and death in our journey through life. We will all meet a GP, need a GP. The Heart of the Matter is the story of a single day in the life of a general practitioner working in the UK today.
Kas Hawes has been a GP in the Northeast of England for the last sixteen years. Before she moved to the Northeast she lived a nomadic life, spending most of her childhood in Nepal and India where her parents worked as doctors. She returned to the UK for her A Levels and completed her medical training at the University of Manchester.