To think the GP surgeries should be open today?

[Sparklingbrook]

Why are they shut? And Monday for that matter? We have 4 days of being at the mercy of OOH now.

[Sparklingbrook]

I would be inside it if it wasn't shut.

[GW297]

Our library is open on Sundays. You can go to out of hours if your children fall poorly today. My friend's children still have their tennis lessons on Sunday - that's like having one on Christmas Day!

[Sparklingbrook]

Our nearest smaller library is shut on a Thursday too.

We nearly had a football match for DS1 on Sunday but the other team cancelled.

[weegiemum]

It's a myth that GPs work 8.30 -6!

My dh leaves at 7 to be there for 8. Yesterday he got home at 10.30, having done 2 visits (one to a dementia patient, one to a terminal cancer patient) after 7pm as they needed it.

I don't begrudge him today off. In 4 days (excluding his out of hours shift) he worked 70 hours in 4 days.

[YellowDinosaur]

That must be a typo weegie. 70 hours in 4 days?

[Lueji]

I would imagine Tuesday will be the day from hell for staff and the GPs.

Or not.
Most colds do get better in 3 days.

[Sparklingbrook]

There is a thread now discussing post. Apparently in Scotland they are getting post. AFAIK no post on Good Friday?

[ChookKeeper]

It was amazing how many people didn't feel they needed to see a Dr earlier this week when the weather was bad - a lot less calls coming in and we still had same day appointments left at 11am.

We had one patient phone in yesterday at 5:30pm asking for an appointment that evening. When asked how urgent they thought the problem was they said "well I've had a bad leg for about 3 weeks but I've only just got around to calling". They did then say "oh so I suppose it's not really urgent then, I'll call back another day". When offered an appointment for next week they said "nah it's alright I'll see how it goes"

The reality is that although there are urgent problem that arise 'out of hours' that patient is typical of the kind of thing a GP would be dealing with on a bank holiday.

[Sparklingbrook]

Our GP does have an automated booking line 24/7 so you can book cancel and rearrange appointments by phone without speaking to a soul. It's really good. So I could make an appointment now if I wanted, for next week.

[ChookKeeper]

Or what about the woman who needed to a doctor NOW and could not possibly wait - her major emergency? She'd cut her finger 10 minutes before, it had stopped bleeding but it might be infected .............

[ChookKeeper]

Ah but Sparklingbrook I had someone (30s, computer literate, access to the internet) make a formal complaint to me that the surgery was discriminating against "OAPs who'd paid in the NHS for 50 years" because we offer online booking and all those greedy young patients would snaffle the appointments because "pensioners don't use the internet".

He was deadly serious.

[YellowDinosaur]

Chookkeeper I had a woman with a cut on the top of her finger that hadn't even gone all the way through the skin. She was worried that a nerve or tendon might have been damaged and wanted it to be formally explored under anaesthetic.

Now granted your average punter hasn't had my teaching in anatomy. So I explained that if the skin hadn't actually been cut all the way through it wasn't possible for anything else to be damaged so she would be fine. But I had to explain this about 10 times before she finally understood and I don't think it was my communication that was the problem...

YY to what you said about the average punter who'd be coming to the gp today would be someone with a problem that firstly probably didn't need to be seen at all and secondly certainly didn't need to be seen urgently.

[thebitchdoctor]

GP here. Don't work 9-5, try 8-7 and on Tuesdays I work till 9pm.

If you weren't GP bashing why put it in your title? Surely it should be 'shouldn't doctors surgeries, schools, banks post offices etc be open'?

I'm on call next Tuesday. It's going to be hell but I don't mind, part of my job.

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Tbf you get paid well for being a GP ooh work is part of the job description

[aftermay]

There speaks The Great Public.

[Sirzy]

actually OOH work is no longer part of the job description is it?

[thebitchdoctor]

Our pay is actually not as much as the general public think it is.

Also OOH work is not part of the job description according to the GP contract. We have to be open 8-6.30 Monday to Friday. Lots of surgeries do extended hours, like mine does. OOH work is covered by the OOH service, which a lot of local GPs actually do work for in their own time.

[BabsAndTheRu]

I have worked in acute medical and rehab for about 20yrs now, we don't work weekends but would dearly love to. We know this would provide a better service, better outcome for patients and shorter length of stay, unfortunately the funds are not there. We re pushing for it and hope to start a pilot project to prove its worth. The problem you have is the cover for weekends would be found from the existing staff who would not be back filled through the week to enable them to do this as no funds for backfill. I expect it is exactly the same for GP's. Weekend working would have started sooner but this government in an attempt to reduce the debt decided to in its wisdom to cut back the funding in the public sector first, nhs, police, education, but then that's a whole other thread. So in answer to your question YANBU and it is something that is looking to be developed but not enough funding.

[aftermay]

You meant the government in its stupidity :)

[BabsAndTheRu]

Indeed

[JenaiMorris]

That gold library is open 7 days a week, 08:30 - 22:00 which is pretty impressive.

I think shops should at least adhere to Sunday trading rules today and Monday. I'm not remotely religious but continual consumption and commerce offends my inner Marxist.

[aftermay]

JennaiMorris but it's not open on Sundays. And that's when the OP would like to use it. Surely, that could be accommodated?

[Sparklingbrook]

Traffic Wardens are working today I noticed......

[Sparklingbrook]

Sorry-library confusion. I posted a pic of the new golden library to point out they don't seem short of cash. Our local smaller library shut Thursdays and Sundays, and I thought it was the smaller libraries in danger of closing due to lack of use.