ABSTRACT
In the words of Charles Dickens, patients have Great Expectations. Over the last two decades we have moved into a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day, ‘I need it now’ type of culture where patients who develop acute symptoms have clear expectations of what they want and when they want it. It is often a cause of considerable problems for osteopaths when patients believe that they can offer treatments or achieve outcomes that are not possible, not only for the osteopaths, but for any healthcare professional.
