to think that people don't realise how tough it is being a GP?

[naima99]

My dad is a GP. He used to love his job, got home at a reasonable time and had more time to spend with his patients.

Now, he regularly gets to work at 7am and leaves at 9:30pm. He has no time for lunch a lot of the time. He hates that he doesn't have the time he used to have for his patients. He gets tonnes of abuse when he's running late but isn't allowed to say that he's late because his last patient was having a suspected heart attack in front of him, or that he had a child in front of him with undiagnosed diabetes whose life was in danger etc. He's lost so many staff members because they're all fed up. He has no life outside of work because he is working on the weekends as they're so short staffed.

He knows so many doctors in the same position.

Now I'm not claiming that GPs are heroes or deserve any more than the rest of us, but I hear them being slated so so much.

People get angry that they can't get an appointment, that the GP only let them talk about two medical conditions in a 10 minute appointment, that google told them something different so the GP must be wrong which results in complaints or anger directed towards them. I was on a conference call the other day when my colleagues randomly started slaying GPs and them not seeing people face to face during covid saying they need to 'man up'

I don't know if IABU to think that a lot of people don't quite understand that appointments in the surgery are such a small part of being a GP, and that it is a pretty gruelling job at times. Maybe I am just being protective over my dad as I can see him falling apart in front of me.

Does anyone agree or AIBU?

Well, I haven't told anyone day in and day out that they're doing a terrible job. That sounds quite an extreme and obsessive way to behave.

I’m talking about the media and public perception... which then translates into people thinking it’s fun to come on mumsnet and tar all GPs as being lazy (but rich) idiots who don’t know “proper” medicine. Very strange behaviour.

Particularly on a thread where OP has expressed concern about her dad “falling apart” - for people to then launch into essays of vitriol about how he should just quit and get a minimum wage job or retire because GPs have it easy is a pretty awful way for (I presume) grown adults to behave.

Hmmmm op has disappeared
I wonder if this was another one of those threads set up for bashing

I wish our gp’s were as dedicated as the OP’s and some of the others on here.

At my surgery the consultations start at 9am (gp’s start at 8.30am) until 11am, then same day emergencies are seen, as well as telephone consultations, home and routine visits and clinics. Afternoon surgery is 4pm until 6pm (Friday afternoons surgery starts at 3.30pm and finishes at 5.30pm). Only one gp stays back after surgery has finished, to carry out any later home visits, that are reported by 6pm, but normally finished by 7pm at the latest. No calls are answered after 6pm, when OOH takes over.There are 4 partners and they only work 4 days a week. Surgery is not open at all over the weekend. Oh, and you can only discuss one medical issue per appointment.

Therefore, if you work, it is extremely difficult to see a gp without either finishing work early or taking time off!

@Whywhywhy321

I wish our gp’s were as dedicated as the OP’s and some of the others on here.

At my surgery the consultations start at 9am (gp’s start at 8.30am) until 11am, then same day emergencies are seen, as well as telephone consultations, home and routine visits and clinics. Afternoon surgery is 4pm until 6pm (Friday afternoons surgery starts at 3.30pm and finishes at 5.30pm). Only one gp stays back after surgery has finished, to carry out any later home visits, that are reported by 6pm, but normally finished by 7pm at the latest. No calls are answered after 6pm, when OOH takes over.There are 4 partners and they only work 4 days a week. Surgery is not open at all over the weekend. Oh, and you can only discuss one medical issue per appointment.

Therefore, if you work, it is extremely difficult to see a gp without either finishing work early or taking time off!

You complain about take time off work but expect GPs to work more than 8:30-7pm? What do you do? Will those GPs be able to use your services outside usual working hours?

Good GPs are wonderful but it is a job where bad GPs can still progress and get away with a cushy pay for flexible hours and amazing pensions (older GPs/partners).

Under NHS the role is heavily weighted towards admin and rewards (especially the older generation of GPs) playing the NHS system... maxing out no. of patients, getting property payments, using young locum doctors to reduce tax liabilities etc.

I say that as a niece of a GP who has a strong work ethic and did very well for himself, but he really isn't an empathetic people person and certainly isnt of the same 'medical calibre' as friends who are hospital doctors (imo, they really deserve more than him but won't get anywhere near). He slags off his patients and has the personality of a workaholic law firm partner.

At my local surgery, they are generally fine though they are very dismissive of everything when they should be your friendly community doctor. At A&E, i've always had good experiences. If that's how GPs want to treat patients, we really should just replace GPs with technology (rather than burden them with admin) to perform basic consultations, direct to services at hospitals or larger centres (bloods, tests, etc), dispense prescriptions and refer to specialist outpatient.

My dad was a GP. He had to see patients who worked and had to see them in the evenings sometimes, on a rota basis. A relationship with a primary care physician is very important and people must be able to work. There are many professions that require shift work and availability outside of office hours and this is important. A locum and nothing but a locum
for people who have to work isn't fair. Things can be missed and they're at a disadvantage. They also need to wait until they're an emergency to see an out of hours GP.