So sorry for NHS staff

[6demandingchildren]

Tried calling my GP practice this morning to get a telephone appointment, Mondays is the worst time to call as you can never get through but I was lucky only this time I was met with a different welcome message, it basically said that its not the receptionists fault if their are no available appointments and please do not take your frustrations out on the staff.
Anyway once the receptionist answered (this was around 10am) all the appointments for the day had gone and she asked what was wrong, I have only got pins and needles in my face so nothing major and she advised me to call back tomorrow morning or phone 111.
No wonder these poor people are so stressed out.

[Dhcfisssifjrsnxfjds]

@Dhcfisssifjrsnxfjds

All these stories about how hard GPs are working is no different to other professionals who work even longer hours in high pressure high stakes roles, where the work never ends and the demands never let up. That is the reality of professional life. Why do GPs think they are exempt? Clinics should provide a minimum number of appointments monthly with a fixed maximum percentage of virtual appointments, and answer calls within a fixed period of time, or public funding should be withdrawn.

It looks like this has now been put in place (with the sanction being that access to the £250m package will be withdrawn from GPs not providing enough FTP appointments).
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58904557.amp
No doubt it will be said that this is not enough/is misdirected etc but surely it must be welcomed as going some way to address the current constraints.

[QuattroFormaggi]

From 'Dr Rant':
"Dear Savage Javid. I see that you are all over the news this morning, promising £250 Million for GP services this winter, albeit with a massive bundle of strings attached.

This represents 0.19% of the NHS budget, or 100 dodgy PPE contracts, which your chum Matt Wanksock ejaculated all over his chums last year. Or around £3.70 per patient, i.e, an extra minute of GP time per person in the UK.

You are not just flogging a dead horse. NHS primary care is a zombie horse who has been flogged to death repeatedly, and is now being asked to run the Grand National using only one leg.

Kindly engage with the BMA and figure out how to fix the problems with primary care, rather than offer GPs peanuts in return for demands."

[Petronius16]

Quattro that’s brilliant.

[thebestnamesweregone]

@RedFlyingBeeBee

YABU I know you didn't ask. I feel sorry for the patients who don't get the healthcare they need and are entitled to. WTH are GPs doing about it all? Why should we feel sorry for the receptionist? It's the GP practice's responsibility to deliver a service. They are not doing this, hiding behind Covid excuses, it's a disgrace. Of course no-one should be abuse but the GP service is now beyond the pale, I mean what GP service?

Well said

[ohfourfoxache]

Love it Quattro!

I can’t wait to see where they are going to get all the extra GPs from - how exciting that there is a huge untapped pool of professionals out there that none of us knew about

[QuattroFormaggi]

Good piece in the Guardian.

www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/14/stop-demonising-englands-family-doctors-we-are-on-our-knees?fbclid=IwAR06KJ9_4XTgMAMSmRKH87LVbua9AWiqMDOCRsKjkVXz9zXPA7yz51BZVgY