This is why A&E is overwhelmed

[PackedintheUK]

And it's nothing to do with over anxious patients seeking "unnecessary" medical care.

I have a very sore very swollen ankle as a result of an insect bite. I've asked advice at the pharmacy and been told it looks nasty, see your GP, you probably need antibiotics.

So I've tried. I've been calling GP surgery all morning and finally got through to have receptionist incredulously say "you want to see a doctor for a gnat bite?" and then be told the next appointment is 16 Nov.

Me: but pharmacist said I need seeing urgently.
Receptionist: All the emergency appointments are gone for today. You'll have to call back tomorrow.
Me: but I've been calling all morning, won't the same thing happen tomorrow?
Receptionist: Well I can't do anything about that, if you're that worried go to A&E

So,I'm not sure that I am "that" worried, but I have been told by someone better qualified than me that I should be seen. We lost a colleague to sepis this year, a fit young woman and it happened incredibly quickly, plus I have a friend currently in hospital on intravenous antibiotics from a very similar looking bite he got at the same park.

I also don't actually feel that well.My body aches and feels heavy and I'm a bit queasy, which could be coincidence or my imagination.

Probably/hopefully it is nothing that won't heal itself in a few days but it feels irresponsible not to take the advice I've been given. Also to go to A&E

So A&E for something that could (probably) have been dealt with in a matter of seconds in a GP (telephone/video?) appointment?

There's no walk in or minor injuries here.

Hope you’re ok @PackedintheUK

Well I had what I thought was a lung infection (had it before). It got worse. I could hardly walk and breathing with or without a mask (covid) was bloody awful. I tried to get in to see a doctor - describing it over the phone. No joy. But they were able to see me for a BP check up. It was obvious when I shuffled in, wheezing, that something was wrong, but they were only interested in checking my BP, not even giving me a future appointment! So I was forced to go to the walk in clinic. Thank goodness I did! It was a problem with my heart. When the gp got a copy of the report they soon wanted to see me!!!!

I am not one of those people who regularly goes to the gp demanding this that and the other, in fact if I had my way I would never darken their door! Trouble is I have Diabetes type 2, heart trouble and very high bp! So our paths have to cross from time to time.

Problem is, we just don't fund the NHS enough or train enough staff. It's as simple as that.
These threads are always the same.
I know someone will come along and say the NHS is inefficient, wasteful etc and I'm sure improvements can always be made but compared to other systems it's very efficient, look it up.
Next up someone will say it doesn't work and we can't afford to have a free to use public healthcare system. Well what does that mean? If you're saying we can't afford it then surely that means we can't afford healthcare because if you mean fund it differently we will almost certainly end up paying more.
It all comes back to funding and staff, we don't have enough of either, this is a political choice.

@Kendodd

Problem is, we just don't fund the NHS enough or train enough staff. It's as simple as that. These threads are always the same. I know someone will come along and say the NHS is inefficient, wasteful etc and I'm sure improvements can always be made but compared to other systems it's very efficient, look it up. Next up someone will say it doesn't work and we can't afford to have a free to use public healthcare system. Well what does that mean? If you're saying we can't afford it then surely that means we can't afford healthcare because if you mean fund it differently we will almost certainly end up paying more. It all comes back to funding and staff, we don't have enough of either, this is a political choice.

Quite so.

Ok so I rang the doctors to book my smear
I have 3 days off in the next 3 weeks plus anything after 4.45pm. They can't do any of them
Nothing after 3 weeks, no appointments released yet
So I'll ring back and it'll be the same scenario plus trying to book it around 8 day periods. I wish there was a smear test place like a vaccine hub!

@Xenia

For those having trouble getting through my son has found if you physically go to the surgery even if they make you stand in the queue outside you eventually do get to the desk face to face with the receptionist gate keeper and then tend to be able to get an appointment - but easy for us to say as my son i s a student so time is utterly different from full time working parents. I am very very lucky. I have needed a GP for 7 minutes in 15 years. Let us hope it stays that way.

Mine won't let you do that. It's get in the phone queue every day or nothing. No other option.

@lightand

I think the UK is becoming broken in general.

And I am not convinced that it is not all being done on purpose..

For what end?

@SunshineCake1 it’s a ridiculous thing to suggest that people who are working their arses off should adopt a 24 hour service. And these GP bashing threads are so unfair and pointless.

That's not what I said @Derbee. I'm not saying Dr Smith should work 24 hours. Obviously. But it seems to me that a 24 hour surgery where two or three sets of staff work on rotation would work better than now where no one really knows where to go. Is it a walk in centre, an OOH clinic, A & E, ring 111.

Underfunding and breaking the NHS is a tactic used to promote privatisation, this works badly for the poorest and those who work in the complex non-profitable segments

For those who think we are wasteful , we are but.....
A hospital bed stay in Ireland is the 8th most expensive in the world (data quoted July 2021 from WHO data from 5 years before that),at $787 per 24 hours, France $570, Italy $487 in the UK WHO data says $218.

we do a lot with very little but we can't do it with nothing
and we can't do it with no-one

[quote SunshineCake1]**@SunshineCake1 it’s a ridiculous thing to suggest that people who are working their arses off should adopt a 24 hour service. And these GP bashing threads are so unfair and pointless.

That's not what I said @Derbee. I'm not saying Dr Smith should work 24 hours. Obviously. But it seems to me that a 24 hour surgery where two or three sets of staff work on rotation would work better than now where no one really knows where to go. Is it a walk in centre, an OOH clinic, A & E, ring 111.[/quote]
but there are no doctors to work this 24 hour shift pattern.......

Even one of the most well funded hospitals in England (Addenbrooks) had a patient die in a queueing ambulance on Sunday night.....

Sorry OP not the point of your thread and for what it's worth I don't think anyone would be wrong to attend A and E with an infected bite...needs seeing, needs seeing urgently thus is an emergency and no-one in my trust would have thought you were unreasonable and I hope no-one did make you feel unreasonable, and you are OK.

@NotMyCat

Isn’t there anywhere else that does smear tests? Here in France I can go to a gynaecologist or a midwife (pretty much next day appointments) or a centre de dépistage (testing centre) or my GP for a smear test? Is the GP really the only option?

Looking from the outside (grew up with the NHS but moved overseas 20 years ago) it’s clear that the «one stop shop» approach of the NHS where everything is provided centrally by a single monolithic organisation and no one pays up front for anything, is no longer sustainable.

So I had a smear test last week. I chose a midwife whose office is close to home and made a rdv at a time of my choosing for a couple of days later. At the rdv I had a full sexual health check, including a smear test and got an ordonnance for a breast ultrasound. I paid 25€ for the rdv - fully reimbursed within a week. I received the smear test results 10 days later, plus paid €8 to the lab. I then made a rdv for the ultrasound - again at my convenience and at a clinic close to home. It cost €80 for the ultrasound and consultation - again all this will be reimbursed in full.

There are options between the NHS and the US extremes which work quite well.

@workwoes123 not that I can find, I've been googling this morning and the cheapest I have found it £195

My gp surgery is 7am to 7pm so I think that's long enough. Its surgeries who refuse to see anyone face to face. They would be better closing the surgery and moving to push Dr. Let another gp take over if you dont believe in f2f anymore. They are still taking up NHS funding and not offering a service. No you dont always need f2f but never? That's a real streach.

Is there a sexual health clinic near you? Often drop in

I got a UTI. GP receptionist wouldn't give me an app for antibiotics. Ended up going to A&E in an ambulance 2 days later as it had spread to my kidneys. The A&E doctor was visibly fuming when I explained what had happened. I was then monitored for ongoing kidney damage. Thankfully I seem fully recovered.

Now I just lie to the GP receptionist to get an appointment.

@WouldBeGood

Is there a sexual health clinic near you? Often drop in

Our local ones all closed down a few years ago. Shame, they were great. I just used to drop in after work with a book and wait my turn. Don't recall waiting longer than 30 mins or so.

@WouldBeGood

Is there a sexual health clinic near you? Often drop in

There is but they don't do smears, only STI swabs

Oh dear, that’s a shame. What a shambles

There's another date I have off work in 4 weeks but they haven't released appointments for then and can't tell me when they get released
I'll try again in a week and see if it's available yet

It clearly is not the fault of current medical staff. It’s a long running failure to train enough new staff. I’ve said this before: it’s really hard to get on medical courses, so there clearly are people interested in becoming doctors who we are turning down.

Yes, maybe some of those were badly suited to medical careers, but surely a fair proportion of them would have done a decent job at it. Certainly better than people being unable to access any medical treatment and dying in an ambulance or seriously ill for want of basic antibiotics.

It might take a few years to turn this around, but we need to invest in more medical training.

[quote SunshineCake1]**@SunshineCake1 it’s a ridiculous thing to suggest that people who are working their arses off should adopt a 24 hour service. And these GP bashing threads are so unfair and pointless.

That's not what I said @Derbee. I'm not saying Dr Smith should work 24 hours. Obviously. But it seems to me that a 24 hour surgery where two or three sets of staff work on rotation would work better than now where no one really knows where to go. Is it a walk in centre, an OOH clinic, A & E, ring 111.[/quote]

We don't have enough qualified staff to run a 9-5 Monday to Friday primary healthcare system effectively. Where do you think we are going to find all the staff to run a 24:7 service??

The government sets the number of medical school places for each years intake, and funds them because obviously it costs loads to train a medic
Local medical school misclculated on offers with the Covid exams and got FINED for each extra student....go figure!

How are you OP?

@foolonthehill

The government sets the number of medical school places for each years intake, and funds them because obviously it costs loads to train a medic Local medical school misclculated on offers with the Covid exams and got FINED for each extra student....go figure!

Still the government’s fault then. This is a policy lever they have and are able to change.

There have been medic shortages for 10-20 years or longer: so it’s not surprising we weren’t ready for a pandemic.

I had a moment of inspiration and rang the health centre that did my coil fitting. They do smear tests!