Collings report on general practice in England in 1950: unrecognised, pioneering piece of British social research?

Collings's grim description of postwar general practice in England and his sombre analysis of its prospects created an immediate sensation. In addition to its value as a historical document, the report is also regarded as a turning point in the postwar history of British general practice. The study is also interesting for another reason, which has not been acknowledged: Collings merits recognition as a pioneer of ethnographic research at a time when it was largely unknown elsewhere in British social research.