Then they'll moan they're "overwhelmed" when they restart routine appointments and understandably a shit ton of patients will need and make appointments to catch up on all their routine healthcare needs when the inevitable backlog hits!
And how many patients with what THEY think is a routine issue but is actually something more serious going to fall through the net - possibly fatally so?
And of course they will still expect to be paid inc incentives and bonuses.
@WillowSummerSloth I'm not experiencing this issue but I'm aware of others, friends of mine, in other parts of the Uk are. Surely you know that especially primary care is absolutely not the same - quality or quantity - across the Uk
Maybe this is too harsh but if you choose to work in healthcare but are unwilling to deal with someone who has a low probability of having an infectious disease even with precautions in place maybe you're in the wrong job
I'd agree with that
There are long term systemic reasons why gp appointments are hard to get and gps "overwhelmed" which they are not blameless for but that's really a separate thread
As a patient too often you really do have to be the "squeaky wheel" to get anywhere!
Dd has just moved to a new health area and so the gp there doesn't yet know her or her history, add to that some of her notes have apparently gone awol in the transfer inc crucial info and she's had a horrendous time getting through to the new gp that yes x might be a routine issue for other patients but for her with her genetic disability she knows having learned the hard way/through experience that she needs to be seen and have a certain treatment organised. Th
Now it's too outing to specify what but it's not something that a person would ask for if they didn't have this particular condition, it's of no benefit whatsoever to others eg she's not requesting narcotic painkillers or anything like that. So it's bizarre that the gp is basically treating her as if she's making shit up or weird!
About time the country "opted out" of paying GPs!
Much as I have issues with primary care and how it's implemented in the Uk they still wouldn't work for no pay and that's of course perfectly reasonable, and I certainly don't want a private healthcare system, things are bad enough already that would definitely be worse!
@stclair non attendance is a long term issue as I'm sure you're aware. I'm absolutely not excusing any patients who simply don't bother and don't inform the surgery they are indeed selfish idiots, but on occasion there are good reasons why a patient misses an appointment as I'm sure you're aware. I wonder as it's smear test appointments it might be at least one of them has had an unpleasant experience or some trauma that has led to them not feeling able to attend. I for one get more than a little annoyed at the narrative that it's no big deal! For some of us it's painful, awkward or even traumatic. For me I'm "lucky" that it's "only" painful and causes serious bleeding. I've accompanied more than one friend who was terrified due to having been victims of assault or having had an awful experience with a previous one.
I'm generally very good about attending but have on occasion had to cancel last min as I also have endo and I've suddenly got a bleed.
The suggestions to quaversplease to get a prepayment certificate I understand are trying to be helpful and helps a bit, but still is approx £7 a month more expensive than what she was before - and that's before you consider the additional admin costs of prescribing monthly a medication they used to get 6 monthly! Plus this puts additional pressure on the pharmacy and its staff and causes her to need more appointments! If they prescribed her 6 monthly as usual that's 5 fewer appointments and 5 fewer "jobs" for the support staff arranging the prescription
THIS is the kind of thing that is long term causing gp's and patients to see each other more than really necessary AND putting pressure on other parts of the nhs.
It's bureaucratic bullshit!
@hiredandsqueak I'm also housebound due mainly (but not solely) to mental illness. My own gp is pretty good but other hcps in the practice it can be very hit and miss and they can even be quite rude acting as if I just need to "suck it up" and go there. I have severe ocd and haven't left my flat in almost 4 years. Even when I'm relatively well going to the gp is difficult for me as it's contamination ocd.
I'm generally in favour of phone appointments but earlier in lockdown I had an issue with my skin flaring up. I initially put it down mistakenly to being unable to get my usual products and that causing an eczema flare. The first dr I spoke with went along with my assumption, even though I said it wasn't my usual presentation so I might be wrong.
Result being the condition being made worse, because what was actually wrong required a completely different approach to eczema. 2nd dr I spoke with asked more questions including specifying where it was worst and did it look different to my usual flares and if so how. From that she correctly dx a completely different condition and not only prescribed a suitable medication but was able to advise me on other management practices to heal and prevent a recurrence.
If I'd been seen in person or at least on a video call the first dr would in all likelihood have seen it wasn't eczema and was this other condition (it has a distinctive look)
However, what I have found is different is I'm not getting everything blamed on me being fat which is the downside to being seen for the overweight. Yes weight is a factor in SOME conditions but it's wearing when it's the focus every damn time! Even when the appointment is for conditions that are nothing to do with my weight!
Primary care has been underfunded for years and never has it been more evident.
If you want to see real change complain to the CCG/your MP
while I agree funding and resources are issues throughout the nhs, inc primary care, there are also systemic and attitude issues which would free up appointments if addressed.
And I do communicate with the health board and my Mp.
What are gp's doing as a group to request that things be improved for them and their patients?
They're about £20, and actually BP is more accurate when checked at home. Not an expensive outlay when you consider the pill is free.
This is a good example of the attitude issues.
£20 for a woman who is possibly being financially and otherwise abused to avoid getting pregnant to her abuser who may well be raping her, or to any NUMBER of patients who are on the bones of their arse at the moment with widespread redundancy and delays in benefits processing to avoid having another mouth to feed IS actually a pretty big ask. Our healthcare is suppose to be free at the point of use. This blatantly goes against that!
Plus to be frank as an ex nurse myself I think it's fairly shoddy to expect patients to do this, when they might also not understand how to accurately do so.
Machines are not perfect and if they get an odd reading they might not realise or might be freaked out unnecessarily
I can't understand why there isn't some national consistency that patients can rely upon, given that it is a National Health Service
Complicated but essentially gp's have never fully been part of the nhs, it's more like they sub contract their surgeries to the nhs - that's a very very simplified version admittedly.
but GPs are a muddling mass of inconsistency and individual decision making and interpretation of the rules.
This is because due to the above, to a point they can set their own rules and a lot of nhs rules are "guidance"
Only so not requirements.
Again very simplified explanation