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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that all GP's (Doctors) work part-time?

355 replies

popcornwizard · 26/11/2018 15:59

Based on my tiny personal knowledge of 4 GP's that are friends, and a couple of others that are friends of friends etc, I'm coming to the conclusion that they all work part-time hours. Is this real? Or is it just the ones that I know. I have no idea whether any of the GP's at 'my' practice work full-time or not, but at least 3 of them work only two days/week.

So AIBU to think that they're a bunch of part-timers? And what causes this? Stress or lucrative locum contracts?

OP posts:
seizethecuttlefish · 26/11/2018 19:05

Meh. I think a good work/life balance probably makes them better gps. If it works for them, why not? A good practice should make sure they have drs to cover the hours needed. It's nothing to do with my what hours my doctor works. Why should it bother you?

Sallystyle · 26/11/2018 19:12

Pretty much all of the GPs I have seen and got to know have worked 2-3 days a week. Of course I have no idea what they do on the other days or how many hours they work on their days in the surgery. Actually, I do know that one of them did 2 days in our surgery and one day at the GUM clinic.

If it works for them, good for them.

TheDarkPassenger · 26/11/2018 19:16

I like you OP, you’re funny!
(Not sarcasm)

I read your op as tongue in cheek, it’s amazing what people will jump at!

All my gp friends and my actual gp are part time too.. but some of them do other stuff too!

Blueblueyellow · 26/11/2018 19:23

They have mounds and mounds of paper work and training they have to do and maybe extra clinics. They don't start at 9 and leave at 5 ever. So you ABU to think they all work part time.

Walkingdeadfangirl · 26/11/2018 19:38

oh do fuck off with your non-sense. doctors pay off their 30/50k student loans like all other graduates
I think training a doctor/gp costs the tax payers a lot more than 30/50k. So we are having to train 2 gps just to fill one position because they are both working part time. Its makes no sense.

Racecardriver · 26/11/2018 19:40

Are all the god you know mothers or old? The only part time gps I know are either mothers with young children and high earning husbands or semiretired.

Racecardriver · 26/11/2018 19:41

@walkingdeadfangirl but the nhs has so severely distorted the healthcare sector thatbritish gps get paid fuck all so it balances out really.

Juanbablo · 26/11/2018 19:42

Our GP surgery is associated with another in a neighbouring village and a lot of the doctors work at both. So might be seen as part time by someone visiting once surgery when they actually work at another practice the rest of the time.

birdladyfromhomealone · 26/11/2018 19:44

Walkingdeadfangirl
RTHT
you are so ignorant about the NHS and how it works.
would you work 90 hrs a week for 2k pcm?
whilst paying off your loan that built up over 5 years?
Would you work on a dying patient , then speak to their family, have no time to cry/eat/drink/wee/poo before the next patient needs your attention?
No
Until you have walked for 5 mins in the shoes of a doctor, take your ignorance and shove it up your rectum.

Walkingdeadfangirl · 26/11/2018 19:48

would you work 90 hrs a week for 2k pcm?
So your saying part time GPs work 90 hrs a week for 2k pcm? I find that hard to believe.

Original poster
popcornwizard · 26/11/2018 19:55

Are you sure that you have four GP friends popcorn?

Erm, yep, pretty sure, unless they have lied to me which seems pretty unlikely doesn't it? What makes you think that I don't? Odd.

Or do you think that they should all be sitting in my living room 24/7 just incase a passing comment on mumsnet about a part-time GP makes me think, hmm, yes, the GP's I know are all part-time too, I wonder if that's normal.

Seems it is, no drama (well not from the majority of posters anyway) well who knew!!

OP posts:
pointythings · 26/11/2018 20:01

Walkingdead what part of 35-40 hours a week is not part time do you find difficult to comprehend?

whattimeisitnow · 26/11/2018 20:02

Are you sure that you have four GP friends popcorn?

I will tell you what makes me wonder:

  1. The fact that you started a thread asking random stranger on MN rather than asking your four 'friends' about their jobs.
  1. The fact that the tone of your OP is inflammatory 'bunch of part timers'
  1. The fact that you still don't seem to have bothered to read/ take on board the many comments which have explained to you that a GP working, say 3 days/ week, is likely to be working FULL TIME HOURS and that other are likely to have other commitments which mean that the total number of hours worked are greater than they may appear to be.

Overall, odd for someone who apparently has 4 GP friends.

vinobell · 26/11/2018 20:08

@walkingdead
just think thru your statement
You don't think GPs should be allowed to work full time.
A majority of women actually have no choice with family commitments etc, and can't work 60 hours if they have young children.

So are you saying female GPs shouldn't be allowed children/ a family?
Or that women shouldn't be GPs?

its all very well making these silly statements without actually thinking about the context. I bet you just ignore me completely because all you're after is a reaction, rather than actual debate.

love from a female, part time GP

PookieDo · 26/11/2018 20:13

I can’t bring myself to go over this all again. All I will say is I am perplexed by some very stupid views. People do not have a clue

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 26/11/2018 20:14

So we are having to train 2 gps just to fill one position because they are both working part time. Its makes no sense.

They are often working the equivalent of full time hours in a normal job, on a compressed number of days.

If the job was good good there wouldn't be a GP recruitment crisis.

dashitauntagatha · 26/11/2018 20:15

Walkingdeadfangirl

Also just to reiterate (for what its worth) - when the papers quote this huge figures for 'training' they are including the salary that junior doctors get paid in their training posts - which are actually full time jobs ie service provision with the odd bit of teaching here and there. they do not spend 10 years being paid to stand around and 'be trained.' It's just learning on the job - and often working 10-20 more hours per week than you're paid for anyway due to rota gaps.

I'm sure you won't take any notice but hey ho.

Original poster
popcornwizard · 26/11/2018 20:15

Ok, so to answer

  1. What's the point of mumsnet if not to ask random strangers stuff? Surely most of the questions asked on here could be asked of someone you know in real life. I've said this more than once now I'm sure, but you seem to have problems understanding. I read a post earlier today which mentioned a part time GP so wondered if this was the norm. I was on hold on the phone at the time, so thought - oh, I'll just post on mn and ask a simple question.
  1. A bunch of part-timers is used to describe a group of people that work part-time hours, I was wondering if the majority (a group) worked part time. I don't think it's inflammatory, you do. People are different.
  1. People are replying that they are part-time, not full-time, which is what I asked. I have no problem with this. It answers my question. I don't care how many hours, I merely wanted to know if it was full or part time.

You're reading too much into this. It was a simple query which you seem to need repeated explanations for. It's making me wonder if you have enough intelligence to be a GP - but that would be petty wouldn't it?

OP posts:
PookieDo · 26/11/2018 20:24

Well the answer is no, and the other answer is so what

Walkingdeadfangirl · 26/11/2018 20:25

vinobell
I am not saying GPs should not be allowed to work part time, but many jobs you dont even have the option to work part time.
GPs should be directly employed by the NHS and have the same rights and responsibilities as every other doctor. If a job is suitable to be part time then that is fine.

I will repeat, it seems economic nonsense to spend so much money training 2 GPs to such a high level for 1 position.

thighofrelief · 26/11/2018 20:25

There are various days that the GPs at my surgery never work there. However, in my borough there seems to be a lot of shared medical services. For instance people who make an appointment at the surgery my parents go to sometimes end up with an appointment at the surgery i go to. Who knows, who cares. I was surprised they weren't paid more, i think they get about £80k when i would have thought £150k.

Jubba · 26/11/2018 20:28

I don’t think the poster was being sneery. Or that they have a problem with gp’s working part time. I think she literally was asking a question....

PookieDo · 26/11/2018 20:30

This topic is being done to death on another active thread

Can we just agree that in practice people have no idea how the NHS is structured and no idea how GP surgeries work either.

I mean employed by the NHS... which bit? The NHS is not just one giant employer entity. It is multiple social enterprises, community trusts, acute trusts, CCG’s, public health. The NHS can’t just ‘employ’ GP’s as that is not how the NHS is set up anymore. They would need to be employed by an organisation that is commissioned by the CCG to run services, needs to tender GP services and ‘win’ the bid FYI leaving it wide open to Virgin Healthcare... this is just not how it works. Ok?

Original poster
popcornwizard · 26/11/2018 20:33

I don’t think the poster was being sneery. Or that they have a problem with gp’s working part time. I think she literally was asking a question....

Ermm yep, spot on. It's other posters that have escalated it up to being perceived as a 'problem' - as they are quite allowed to do so. It was a simple question from a simple person!

OP posts:
PookieDo · 26/11/2018 20:36

So AIBU to think that they're a bunch of part-timers? And what causes this? Stress or lucrative locum contracts?

This is the question you asked. I don’t think you can exactly be surprised at the response. It’s not exactly going to attract the most in-depth debate as it’s more of a statement