GP Surgeries are NEGLIGENT if they're not doing face to face appointments

[AmIEmptyOrNumB]

My GP surgery never stopped. They just triaged so 90% by phone and those essential face to face appointments carried on but with masks etc. Why is the government not doing more about this? These Surgeries denying all face to face appointments are failing the hippocratic oath.

@Mrs08 generally if I had a sudden inability to walk I'd contact a more urgent service than a GP surgery

I've had blood tests done after I asked for an appointment. Blood tests were negative. The health issue continues. No face to face with GP and no follow up.
Same with ds' persistent chronic acne.

We use Ask My GP. The Doctors decide who needs a face to face consultation not the Receptionists and they book their own appointments. I haven't made anyone a GP appointment since March 2020.

[quote girlmom21]@Mrs08 generally if I had a sudden inability to walk I'd contact a more urgent service than a GP surgery [/quote]
She couldn't walk by midnight that night when she became very ill
Which I thought was clear from my post

I like the new system, ours do the call first then book a face to face if needed. It’s quicker and saves time of no actual physical appointment needed.

If thr Dr had called her in, dipped her urine they would have seen how chock full of bacteria it was and prescribed more suitable antibiotics.
5 day stay in hospital avoided.
Mum says that many people on her ward are there because they didn't get to GP/GP refused to see them.

@threecee

Why are G P's still not routinely seeing all patients face to face as before Covid ? surely there are still the same numbers of GP's employed, it strikes me that they are using covid to bring phone consultations in without discussion with the patients, government etc.

I'm inclined to think that all patients don't need to routinely be seen face to face in the first instance. Some matters can probably be dealt with by a triage GP phone appointment.

@Mrs08 sorry I only saw your reply to me, not your initial post

But...it is what it is.
They won't change.
Why should they?
They still get paid per patient if they see them or not.

It was the receptionists rather than the doctors themselves though.

That'll be the Dr's using the receptionists as a shield from patients.

[quote girlmom21]@Mrs08 sorry I only saw your reply to me, not your initial post [/quote]
No worries

@FOJN

It was the receptionists rather than the doctors themselves though.

That'll be the Dr's using the receptionists as a shield from patients.

Yep. For minimum wage receptionists get the aggro/abuse. I was a hospital clinic receptionist a few years ago and it's awful. Management do not care one jot.

GPs are the forgotten “victims” within the NHS

They are dealing with never ending shit from hospitals (it’s ok, because primary care will always be there to deal with the fallout), patients who have understandably been reluctant to seek help for “minor” conditions throughout the pandemic which may or may not be serious/life threatening AND they are having referrals rejected left right and centre

I am so fucking fed up of this never ending stream of utter shit against GPs. The vast majority are on their fucking knees they are so overloaded, but because you can’t “see” it it isn’t happening

I absolutely fucking despair 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

@Mrs08,

Now that you have to register for a GP to get vaccinated, they have the perfect deal.

Get paid, don’t bother to actually see people.

I am not against telephone consultations, if efficiently arranged, and if the patient is happy with one.

Every patient should, however, have the right to a face-to-face if they want one (barring nuisance repeat offenders etc).

I had to use the 111 service yesterday evening for the first time as on the face of it I had some symptoms which were fairly alarming. I called the GP assuming there would be some sort of locum/out of hours service. Very naive. The surgery is open 9.00-18.30 Mon-Fri and outside those hours you are directed to 111. I know I’m late to the party on this but I’m actually astounded the Dept of Health has allowed a situation where GP’s do not have to provide any out of hours support as part of their contracts. Everyone in my area gets sent to 111 and then probably to A&E. I was there 5 hours. I didn’t need to be admitted and have been referred on. If I could have spoken to a Doctor over the phone I think the A&E visit could have been avoided. Better for me and the NHS. It’s really no surprise A&E is dealing with things it is not intended for. I hope someone in the Dept of Health is looking at reviewing GP contracts and what they cover.

I like the new system of telephone consultations then face to face if the doctor or nurse deems it necessary following the phone consultation.

@ohfourfoxache

GPs are the forgotten “victims” within the NHS

They are dealing with never ending shit from hospitals (it’s ok, because primary care will always be there to deal with the fallout), patients who have understandably been reluctant to seek help for “minor” conditions throughout the pandemic which may or may not be serious/life threatening AND they are having referrals rejected left right and centre

I am so fucking fed up of this never ending stream of utter shit against GPs. The vast majority are on their fucking knees they are so overloaded, but because you can’t “see” it it isn’t happening

I absolutely fucking despair 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

May I ask of you feel my mum was treated appropriately?

Because I thought she was dying on monday night.

I find the phone appointments quite convenient. My dd needed an appointment...I did it over the phone and she didn't need the morning off school which was a bonus

I’m actually very happy with my GP service when I can see them. It the out of hours just seems to be totally broken with everyone shuffled off to A&E

Also...do you have a view on their refusal to certify a death?

I’m going to go against the grain and say it’s been fantastic for us, but I recognise others have very different experiences.

Previously I had to phone the surgery at 0900 n the dot for an on the day appointment, and it was a total lottery whether I would get one. Then take time to go to the surgery and back. I hated phoning. I hated the waiting room. Both made me anxious.

Now, I can do the online part of the consult any time of the day or night. I can take my time a properly get across what I want to. The call back is the same day. I am lucky that even if I am in a meeting I am usually able to take the call. I have every confidence that if I needed to be seen after the consult then I would be.

It’s made everything MUCH more accessible for me. I have been able to have ailments dealt with that I wouldn’t previously because I felt like I was taking up too much of the Dr’s time.

However, I realise it must be very hard e.g. for anyone who can’t answer the callback or get privacy for it.

We waited 3 hours for the ambulance btw.

The ambulance service told me to take her myself - which I would have if I could have physically carried her to my car...

@Mrs08 no, that’s not right AT ALL- your mum should NEVER have been in such a terrible position and the standard of care she received is not acceptable at all

Unfortunately what you have experienced are the symptoms of a system that is monumentally fucked. The pressure is far, far too high to ensure that what is delivered is delivered safely

@Mrs08 JFC that’s horrendous 😱

@Mrs08

My 75 year old mum (who has several health conditions including a bladder prolapse) has just spent a 5 days in hospital with nephritis on IV fluids, IV antibiotics, IV pain relief and Supplemental oxygen. Why?? Because when I filled in an e consult form for her (as the surgery now demand....) a Dr called her back that afternoon, dx a UTI over the phone (how do you dip urine over the phone!!??) And gave her 3 days of Nitrofurantoin. By midnight that night she was systemically ill and needed all the above interventions. Formal complaint in. Nothing will happen. No other option where we live. They don't have to improve.

Nitrofuritonin shouldn't be prescribed for less than seven days. It's trimethoprim only that can. So include that in your complaint, as even if it was appropriate it's the wrong dose.

My family member was told her bleeding was "just" a uti for six months, she actually had womb cancer, not actually seen, no tests done for over six months, bleeding constantly, sometimes a lot others hardly at all and post menopause. Even I knew when I spoke to her it was an uti - I suffer really badly from them. Her cancer is terminal.