Perfectly normal and has been at many gp surgeries for many years now.
I remember it starting early 90’s.
Unfortunately STILL too many people asking for/wanting to see a DR for things that a
Pharmacist - not only great usually better than drs on meds knowledge inc side effects and interactions with other meds - mine literally saved my life when they caught that I’d been prescribed a med I’m allergic to which the name had changed and dr hadn’t realised. They’re also well versed on otc and home remedies and their interactions with meds too.
Optometrist - experts on all aspected of eye health, a friend of a friends child the optometrist also spotted a cancer symptom
Phlebotomist
Podiatrist
Physio
Nurse - ours are excellent on many aspects of healthcare, nutrition, self care, mh, gynae... all sorts
Is perfectly capable of dealing with.
But it’s not entirely patients’ fault.
Personally I think we need a good, clear public health campaign advising people of who to see for which complaints.
That would free up a lot of gp appointments.
Occasionally had issues with new receptionists (either we were new patients to that surgery or they were new to the job) who were somewhat obstructive/awkward when I’ve had to make gp appointments for dd and I for what are on the surface issues normally dealt with by other hcps, but I’ve learned now to preface with something like
“We have to see gp about this due to history of asthma/other condition...”
“When we’ve dealt with this in the past otc treatments didn’t work and gp advised in future to make gp appointment without delay as we’re prone to x issue”
Dd has a disability which makes her not only more prone to certain infections but also they take hold very badly and very fast on her so have to be dealt with strongly and quickly.
I have difficult to control asthma plus a history of serious lung issues and so if I get a chest infection I’m prescribed antibiotics immediately prophylactically. I also have allergies to certain antibiotics and so tend to need ones that can only be prescribed by a dr. Pita for me too but can’t be helped.
The receptionists that know us don’t hesitate to make an appointment.
Otherwise I’m pretty good on treating most minor ailments with home or otc remedies anyway and even with dds condition we’ve learned how best to deal with the regular issues.
My gp surgery you can self refer (hope I get this right, I’m always posting on mn about it but don’t always get the services right then next time I call I realise!) to:
Physio
Podiatry
Primary mh care
Midwifery service
Audiology
Treatment room (for wound care mainly, new dressings, stitches removed etc)
Nurse practitioner (who can do loads)
It frees up appointments for the gps and they also do telephone appointments which As I’m housebound I find very useful for minor issues. Gp & nurse will do house calls for anything serious.
Also an automated repeat prescription line.
I agree receptionists are NOT medically trained and should not be advising patients on otc or home treatments and I’ve had that issue myself and I have complained and the receptionist was handled in both instances. Only twice over many many years as a patient though.
I also think when it’s in person in the reception area they should provide pen & paper or perhaps a small whiteboard for patients to write the issue on so they’re not having to announce to the entire bloody waiting room that they’ve got thrush again!
Mine you book in electronically too and it pisses me off that my dob and address are shown in HUGE writing which I am sure must be a Gdpr issue! I’m on one med which is controlled (and very popular with heroin addicts) I felt very vulnerable at times when the in surgery pharmacy or even the dr or receptionist has mentioned this med coupled with others in the waiting room probably having seen my address! (I have raised this but they still slip up sometimes)
“We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else” ohh I know the feeling! I’m an “incomer” and I’ve found it really quite disconcerting when via Facebook I’ve discovered certain connections I was completely unaware of eg at one point my next door neighbour (who was an arse to me) turned out to be the brother of the person at the council I’d been complaining about him to! 😡
Others I’ve just been so glad I’ve held my tongue on certain issues when someone who’s annoyed me turns out to be x’s sister in law or something.
“I wouldn't want a GP taking my blood or bandaging me anyway, they do these kinds of tasks so rarely these days that they're often crap at it.” So true! I think a lot of people don’t realise they don’t get a lot of training or experience on certain skills because it’s actually not really part of their job! I’m a nightmare to get blood out of and always ask for the midwife to do it and my surgery are fine doing that as even the nurse says I’m murder! (Thin, buried, easily collapsing veins unfortunately) I did have one dr ages ago TRY and did that awful thing of “digging around” to try and “revive” the vein! Bloody hurts!!
Forever grateful to the receptionist when we rushed dd in with her first bout of anaphylaxis (living in sticks at the time gp quicker than ambulance as we lived less than 5 mins from surgery) who didn’t even really wait to hear us, took one look at dd and belted off to get dr and told them it was anaphylaxis and dr appeared with Epi ready to go grabbed dd and stuck it in! Very very scary experience.
“Most of us are aware who is the best person to seek help from” actually no not the case.
“We're all aware of using services correctly” not true.
Seen MANY threads on here posted by people with minor ailments that require nothing more than home remedy/otc treatment bemoaning not being able to get gp appointments AND by people with clearly serious issues (symptoms of heart failure, limbs hanging off!) debating whether to go to a&e!
Most people don’t really seem to understand what various hcps do and what services they’re able to provide, no.
Personally I think there are 2 easily resolvable reasons why there aren’t enough gp appointments currently and the solution IS NOT more gps!
1 gps NOT referring to specialists when appropriate - this is a major bug bear of mine and comes down to money. Basically gp surgeries are to all intents and purposes self employed/self contained businesses that sub contract to the nhs. Referrals to specialists impact their profits plus there are other disincentives to do so. Result being many patients see the gp repeatedly for the SAME undx condition, sometimes over years/decades rather than being referred to a specialist and getting the correct dx and treatment.
Our current model of treatment is basically “fire fighting” rather than long term prevention.
It’s a particular issue for female patients especially with not only gynae issues but apparently (from my own personal interest in this and many threads on here) also gall bladder disease and thyroid conditions.
If gps referred to specialists as they should, they wouldn’t have many multiples of appointments taken up by patients reporting/getting treatment to cover the same symptoms repeatedly.
2 people due to lack of knowledge wrongly seeing the gp for issues better and more appropriately dealt with by other hcps and nhs services.
Another less easy to deal with reason is people who HAVE been told that they should be seeing another hcp or service for x issue and for whatever reason either don’t understand or don’t accept that information. Less easy to deal with as reasons may include health anxiety, learning disabilities, dementia etc but barring cognitive impairment I do think patients who use gps inappropriately should be pulled up in some way.