To wonder why it takes a GP 7 years to train?

[Swedes2Turnips1]

When all they seem to do is say 'I will write you a letter of referral' or 'You will have to make an appointment with the practice nurse for that'. What do they actually do these days?

The best graffiti I've ever read was in the loos in the Radcliffe science library, One was Biochemists Rule Acetyl -CoA (that will have Tamum holding her sides)

Another was

Holy Mary we Believe
that without sin thou didst conceive
Blessed virgin, thus believing
May we sin without conceiving

Did you find it down the back of a sofa?

itscoldtoday - not assuming anyone reads the second sentance along with the first!

nope was gone forever - had to speak to 27 banks to explain that the report they had in front of them was a teensy bit inaccurate.

Consultant anaethetist we saw today had to explain the nerve block procedure to us. He also had to point out that it has a 2% risk of causing paraplegia.

Thankfully dh doesn't need it, but it is there if he does further down the line.

Thank god people are brave enough to do this sort of shit, because I can tell you for nothing, that I would bottle out of it.

I think Swedes had a valid point about creating an unnecessary layer of bureacracy, especially for the admin staff at the surgery.

My gps' surgery now do not do blood tests which is now a minor inconvenience to head into hospital, pay £2 to park and find pathology but a major inconvenience for my elderly neighbour who does not drive.

I did think it was the govt's intent to do more healthcare within the community, at a localised level, but maybe this is a time management/funding issue?

MB - 2% still means there is 98% on your side so to speak - we would play those odds at the tables wouldn't we? As you say - thankfully you don't need it now anyway.

Oh if he is in uncontrolled pain well definitely take the chance. But ATM he is well controlled on opiates.

It was just a hell of a conversation.

MB - will pray for the present, good pain control to continue.

swedes - one thought - you are worried about your thyroid and describing a few symptoms which may be post pregnancy, but may not... your GP may suggest a few more things it might be important to test as well as the thyroid, and these tests could all be done at one phlebotomy visit. As it is, if your thyroid tests are normal and your symptoms and concerns continue, you may end up returning to discuss the issue further, or for further tests - thus spending even more time and effort than an initial GP visit

i'd like to give my GPs, GYN and the anaesthetist who knocked me out yesterday a big cuddle.

I would rather it took a GP TWENTY years to train, than for them to look at me with a blank face everytime they saw me because they never knew whats wrong with you.
They are very clever people, and without all that training, us non-GP's would probably be in sh*t.

Expat - good to se you back

You know what...when I was a GP I didn't earn anywhere near £150k either, but a big cuddle every now & then would have been wonderful...I may even have stayed in the NHS!

Most GPs I know, and I know quite a few, admit that the service they offer for much of the time is sub-standard and they are as disillusioned as some of their patients.
Anyway, my sister, who is a medical director, has told me that I must see the GP (but she agrees that it is crap that I can't have the blood tests at the same time - her practise have their own phlebotomist and any blood work is done immediately after the GP consultation) and she suggests I ask them why a 10 GP practise need to send their patients to a second appointment for blood tests.

The trouble with GPs is they are not really scrutinised, they get their money from the PCT and they set up their own system as they are contractors to the NHS. Why is there no appts in the evening or at the weekends? Most of the population work and they have to take time off to see their doctors. Everything is set up around the convenience of the doctor rather than the convienience of the patient.

Swedes - actually increasingly GP practices and hospitals are offering services at weekends and evenings - but they can't offer them for everyone all the time.

Northern, Yes - but my surgery hours are confined to Monday to Friday 09.00 to 11.30 and 15.30 to 17.00. Note especially helpful I think you will agree.

Swedes, do you know what your GP is doing between the hours of 11.30 and 3.30?

And do you think they just all toddle off home when their last afternoon clinic appointment is finished?

exactly!

exactly what?

Well I have to go out in a minute, and as you have said, have had minimal contact with your GP I will answer my questions for you.

When DH's morning surgery finishes, which is never 10 mins after his last patient appointment as he always overruns (10 min appointments and all) he will then go on to do:

A telephone appointment clinic

Urgent appointments that have unable to be slotted into normal clinic time

Home visits (normally 3-4 per day, he is a rural GP so there is always a lengthy drive between each patient)

Repeat prescrition forms

Hospital referral letters

Checking results that have come back from the hospital and contacting patients with results etc

Phoning (or visiting) patients or patients families who might not necessarily have requested a call but might be going through a particularly rough time.

Meetings with partners, practice manager, other practice staff, PCT etc.

Training sessions (either with GP registrars at the practice or actually for themselves).

There is probably more.

Your practice is probably contractually obliged to keep their phone lines open until 6pm when the out of hours service takes over. Dh is duty doctor twice a week and has to be available to see any patients that call before this time (including home visits).

And then when his last patient leaves......well then it's back to the paperwork. He gets home between 7.30 and 8pm most nights. He has an (unpaid) afternoon off a week, where he stays in the practice and does paperwork. He is home by 6pm on his half day. He sometimes goes into the practice on a saturday to do paper work. He does at least one out of hours shift per week (ie a night or weekend duty).

He does not whinge, he accepts this as part of the job, and he is renumerated for this.

I whinge and get cross when I see things like

"Everything is set up around the convenience of the doctor rather than the convienience of the patient".

If your practice is not set up for your convinience then maybe you should take it up with them.

Sorry if there is an x-post, that took a while to type.

There are 21 receptionists and administrators at my GP's practise - and an answerphone answeres the phone

Blimey. I thought I was the only GP on here...! Thank you for all the kind words. You would be amazed how infrequently people say thank you to their doctors.

Swedes - for what it is worth I would have thought the conversation went something like this:
receptionist - swedes wants a blood test.
doc - what for?
receptionsit - for her thyroid
doc - why?
receptionist - don't know
doc - could you ask her to come in for an appointment so we can discuss it and see whether she needs it, why she needs it what symptoms she has etc etc?

And no - I don't tend to take blood tests in surgery either - because I get 10mins per patient and so to spend 4-5 of those taking blood would be a waste of my 9 years training. But that is only my opinion obviously. (btw - it doesn't take me 4-5mins to get the actual blood out - just getting all the tubes ready and labelled and stuff - the actual blood taking takes seconds!!)

I used to work in a practice where they offered evening appointments. No one came that didn't usually come to daytime ones (i.e. the patients came to whatever appointment was available whether daytime or evening) so it all seemed a little futile. Although they do still do it.

And yes, some hospital consultants take longer to train than GPs. Some take less time. There you go. That clearly makes psychiatry a doddle, GP a bit trickier and neuroradiology (which my DH does) really very difficult indeed. Which he will be terribly pleased about.

Oh and no - I don't earn 150k either! I wish!

In Greece you go straight to see a specilasit - they don't have GP's as far as I am aware.

I have found on many occasions, the visits to my GP a difficult experience - mainly because the ones I have come into contact with

• are not open to alternative opinion (home birth, vaccinations etc)

• are cross if you ask to be referred.
• do not give you the full information so they are so rushed

that said I have not been to a GP for 3 years and neither have my kids - so maybe it has all changed now. Or maybe it was worse in London