To think gps need to unlock the doors/open properly

[Nousernameforme]

Theres an article on the bbc about childrens a&e being overwhelmed by visits that aren't needed. Aibu to think that these people would have taken their children to the gp had they been able to? I know that they say a lot of them wouldn't have needed to see a gp but the viruses right now are horrible, probably due to everyones immune system being protected for a year, so it's harder to tell what needs help and what will get better on it's own.
My youngest has just got over the most awful virus which if it had not turned a corner when it did I would have got him medical assistance and if I can't get it from a gp I would have had to take him to a&e.

Our gp surgery is locked up the phone lines are only for those who have no internet and if you do get through all they do is put a request through on the ask my gp thing. I or members of my family have tried to see the dr for about 9 things this past year and got in once. 4 times we were prescribed antibiotics having not seen a dr.
Can we not have an official unlocking of the gp surgerys now please.

Agree
Agree
Agree

If dentists and other health services physio etc can open so can they! All gps should be double jabbed ages ago.

I was literally thinking this the other day. I went for my whooping cough jab. I couldn't just ring up and book either, I stayed on hold till I got through to an actual person who then told me to go online. I was thinking 'But I'm talking to you now so can't you just book it? Essentially, what is the point of you in the nicest way'. But I politely agreed and booked online.
When I got there, there was me and one other person in quite a spacious waiting area. We were both masked up ect and yet I was still asked to wait outside, 7 months pregnant on the hottest day of the year. There was a gazebo and chairs but they were covered in ants !?
I was sat there thinking where is the bloody logic in this ...who are they 'protecting' when older people and pregnant women are more likely to faint waiting outside in the heat than catch covid in a waiting room?
Didn't expect that to turn into such a rant, sorry 😂 YANBU

They are obviously seeing people, but the phone and email appointments are screening in the necessary patients. The rest get advice.

But reading the OP again, I suppose I'm lucky my GP opens the doors at all!

We are open. I've seen patients face to face every working day of the pandemic. We have also been underfunded for the last 20 years and the gap between supply and demand is showing. Blame successive governments for year on year real terms funding cuts, because every GP bashing post like this pushes another GP towards leaving the profession.

It’s stupid. I also had to book my whooping cough vaccine. I rang up and the receptionist told me I first would be booked in for a telephone appointment to ascertain if I needed to be seen. I argued the toss and said I did need to be seen because how do you administer a vaccine over the phone? But she wouldn’t budge. So last week I had to have a telephone appointment with the nurse who agreed that yes, I could come in in person for the vaccine. Bloody stupid.

I work in health and social care. We are drowning just now. Its worse than it was at peak of admissions. Around 50% of our care staff are off isolating/looking after isolating children. The public are (understandably) expecting services to be up and running. Attendances everywhere are up. Services are playing catch up. It's hell.

So yabu. GPs are doing what they can.

My GP surgery has been open as normal (as much they can be) for most of the last year, I have no complaints.

Presumably most of these children had temperatures so the GP would not have seen them - it’s the first question they ask. I’m not sure what the process is if you have a non-Covid temperature at A&E.

My sixteen year old is quite poorly with a fever at the moment, we’ve done negative LFTs because that’s what I had in the house and I’m going to pick him up a PCR test.

It's a mix of things for me.

Children turning up at A&E with bog-standard winter bugs - parents haven't experienced these as usual due to the pandemic, are especially panicky when there's unexplained coughing during the current climate, go to A&E. I think this will be a short-lived thing as parents get reacquainted with the usual bugs.

We're a family that went to A&E with a random virus. DD(3) ran a high temp, coughing, bit of wheezing. I was convinced it didn't need anything other than Calpol. She woke up from one nap almost battling to breathe, DH insisted we call 111, they sent us to hospital. DH was suggesting pneumonia; DD was doing cartwheels round the waiting room at that point.

GPs unlocking... TBH there are some things and people for which phone and online appointments are absolutely ideal. There are some that really aren't. My GP isn't excelling itself at distinguishing between the two at the moment and I wish they'd prioritise this.

But more generally I've noticed a decline in service quality since last March. Being sent a blood test form for kidney function instead of thyroid, longer waiting times for appointments, not very well joined up referral services (I'm pregnant and need to phone the hospital with blood test results, or the MW team with consultant feedback... why can't they communicate with one another?), less availability (eg phlebotomy used to be a walk-in service available 4 days a week at any of five sites... now it's ring a number, wait in a queue, get allocated an appointment two weeks hence on the other side of the borough).

GPs are completely overwhelmed at the moment. Demand has never been higher. GPs are leaving in their droves due to workload and stress. If you want GPs to shoulder the strain and prevent more A&E visits, then the government needs to fund them properly.

Yes I think it's bloody ridiculous !! Even Collecting a prescription from my GP surgery is like trying to get into Fort Knox, everyone looking worried to death just get on and open up properly.

@wherewildflowersgrow

They are obviously seeing people, but the phone and email appointments are screening in the necessary patients. The rest get advice.

@wherewildflowersgrow and you have to really fight to get seen. My baby had a suspected urine infection and the only reason we got seen is because I went into the actual doctors as they refused to see her when I phoned up!

That article made me really angry.

Of all the people we should be telling to not seek medical attention if concerned then worried parents are not the ones to say that too.

I took Ds to a and e at 8 weeks old. I was fully expecting to be told I was being a paranoid first time Mum - infact the first dr pretty much said that - but I knew something wasn’t right. Thankfully the nurse knew there was something not right. Two weeks later and a stay in HDU later he came home but we still have issues 11 years later.

Children can deteriorate so fast that parents should be able to seek help without being made to feel bad

I accept everything is under pressure. However was the tone of the report " look at all the time wasters?" That type of blaming the public really doesn't help matters

And I await the report next month that says " neglectful parents fail to bring children for much needed care."

@sparemonitor

We are open. I've seen patients face to face every working day of the pandemic. We have also been underfunded for the last 20 years and the gap between supply and demand is showing. Blame successive governments for year on year real terms funding cuts, because every GP bashing post like this pushes another GP towards leaving the profession.

This. I work as a nurse in two surgeries and they are both seeing dozens of patients face to face every day. Squeezing in extra patients at the end of the sessions because they can't be left until tomorrow. Bringing sick kids in during their admin time, because they want to actually see them... My GP colleagues work incredibly hard and I'm fed up of all the GP bashing threads, where the complaint is actually about the surgery processes around appointment bookings, which unfortunately in some surgeries is a bit crap but that's due to the huge demand and short supply.

I think one of the issues is that its location dependant. Some gps by this thread are operating pretty much as standard and then others not doing much at all. That's why an official unlocking would be a good idea to hopefully get them all operating in a similar way.

@wherewildflowersgrow

They are obviously seeing people, but the phone and email appointments are screening in the necessary patients. The rest get advice.

This isn’t the case everywhere. My GP sent me to A&E last week rather than agree to see me herself (serious issue that needed dealing with ASAP but one a doctor could diagnose and treat).

Hospital staff were lovely but understandably annoyed as they said this was happening a lot.

On the whole my GP has been better during Covid but I had to refer a problem early this week. Admittedly GP got back to me within 24 hours and said I needed a blood test and that the office would be in touch to arrange it. What I got was a text telling me a time and date which were not possible as I work full time, funnily enough flat out and 55/60 hours pw. So then I had to call and change it which took 40 minutes because they don't answer the phone.

Next time perhaps I'll afford the practice the same level of respect they afford me and send in a note to say that I will be coming at x time to see y Dr.

We are continually asked not to waste the time of GPS - it would be nice if they didn't waste the time of patients due to the their lack of mutual respect.

My GP experience has been great during the pandemic. I email in and they call back within a couple of hours. Seen the same day.

@lollipoprainbow

Yes I think it's bloody ridiculous !! Even Collecting a prescription from my GP surgery is like trying to get into Fort Knox, everyone looking worried to death just get on and open up properly.

Why do you need to collect a prescription from the GP surgery? They should be able to send it directly to a pharmacy of your choice for you to collect from. That’s what mine does. I was delighted to get prescribed antibiotics last year for mastitis without needing to trek to the surgery.

My surgery has been open throughout. I had an in person appointment a few days ago. Not an emergency by any means and easy enough to book on the nhs app about 10 days out. Could have had a phone appointment much sooner.

DH is a GP - have never been closed and doing a mixture of f2f and phone appointments. They are doing more appointments each month but there are more people wanting an appointment than there is availability. The U.K. has a huge shortage of GP’s with practices closing each year.

In general the phone triage system at the GP I use has worked well in the pandemic along with an online query system for non- urgent things. I've been seen face to face when needed. However I think there needs to be more flexibility, my health visitor has asked me to get my DS's hips checked by the GP and I've got to have a telephone appointment first, stuff like this is obvious that he will need to be seen so the telephone appointment is a waste of GP time.

@MaloInAnAppleTree

Presumably most of these children had temperatures so the GP would not have seen them - it’s the first question they ask. I’m not sure what the process is if you have a non-Covid temperature at A&E.

My sixteen year old is quite poorly with a fever at the moment, we’ve done negative LFTs because that’s what I had in the house and I’m going to pick him up a PCR test.

we triage kids (and adults) with temperatures over the phone and if they need seeing F2F we see them in our hot room.