To think that is a miracle that gp's can suddenly diagnose and treat patients over the phone?

[thewinchesters]

For the past 5 days I've had abdominal pain, bloating, and a couple of other symptoms. I spoke to my gp over the phone who diagnosed me with a uti and sent antibiotics to the pharmacy.

They're not making any difference so far (day 3) and the pain and bloating is getting worse.

For the sake of a simple urine test, or even just a quick appointment where the gp checks my actual body, I don't understand how we're at the point of now just guessing and hoping for the best!

Why haven't they resumed normal service??

Like are the people on this thread saying "GPs should go back to work" etc for real?
Let's look at an example of a universally underfunded service... CAMHS... for those who don't know this is child and adolescent mental health services.
Now think of the number of children and young adults who are more anxious and troubled than ever following the lockdowns etc. Now think of the GPs, who by the way are not the correct service, nor are they adequately trained to deal with this. That is only one example of how GPs are trying to look after people while they await to access appropriate services etc. They are dealing with so much more than people can even think.
I know we as hospital doctors refer patients back to the GP to facilitate repeat blood tests, follow ups following starting a new medicine or to organise a further referral.
Now imagine the number of patients per GP in a practise and the known shortage of GPs due to yet more underfunding.
Please stop slating these people who stay most days than not beyond their working hours to do the "donkey work" behind the scenes.
Many are going to burn out and shortages will get worse.

If it was safe to diagnose over the phone why hasn’t that always been the way? Agree with pp who said it relies on patient to be able to accurately describe the problem.

This seems madness

Also not in uk anymore. You can walk in at any point and wait, usually seem within 10mins-1hr max. Can also just book appointment at any time.

When Ds was ill last year with hand, foot and mouth he had a high temp of 40 for days before the spots came out. He was seen by paediatrician, checked in hospital, and then local paediatric nurse came out to see him every day for home visit for 5 days to monitor. The nurse visits only signed off to stop after final visit to paediatrician. He then had a check up a month later.

Exactly this. Comments like "covid was the best thing to ever happen to them" etc are nasty and uneducated. The backlog of patients who need to receive routine care is incomprehensible, then add the fact that many electives were cancelled and long term conditions have worsened due to services redeploying for covid - so you not only have a massive list of "routine" patients who need your care, but then also a massive list of patients who need complex and/or urgent care. Telephone triage is the most effective way to deal with the volumes required, and it's up to you as a patient to be clear about your symptoms and take some responsibility for your own health. If your symptoms are worsening or not improving, call back just as you would have done before covid. Suggesting GPs as a collective are lazy and uncaring, and work shy, is just mind blowing.

Are GPs back from furlough yet?

My consultant friend has said the same thing. She’s seeing sicker patients due to not being having any checks/worsening cases/undiagnosed cases during the covid period. But she also added that personally shes not happy with her own GP surgery which was taken over recently by some big American company and now things changed introducing cuts backs etc….if they are lucky they would get to see a nurse that is if they are very lucky in the first place to get past the receptionist to an appointment who now seems to triage the patients!!!

We are def an ageing population, there should be more funding to get more GPs and consultants trained up.

op, from experience with UTI you don’t sound like you have ONE. You obv need to be check ftf but bowels need to be checking too.

menora, Thank you for taking the time to explain all of that. It does make sense. I am a teacher and we have similar issues. We are struggling more than usual due to the fact that the services we'd usually refer to - SALT, CAMHS etc - are overwhelmed. Maybe practices should explain the reasons for phone appointments so that reasonable people understand what is going on.

Channel Islands here. People complain here that we have to pay for gp appointments. I think I paid £51 last time I went.

Benefit of this is I can usually call up and get a same day appointment. Face to face. Not necessarily with my chosen dr but with someone.

If you can actually get through on the phone lines ours are actually offering a better service now really. The GP calls you back and triages you, which is great for when they can diagnose over the phone and send out a prescription, if they need to see you then you get an appointment that day given by the doctor that calls.

See there's just no point in trying to educate some people..

That was in response to this and comments like it 🙄

So true about the missed appts. I was in the waiting room at the GP on Monday and a patient was being really hostile towards the receptionist, essentially he had not bothered turning up to an appt or cancelling it which had caused a delay in something that he was not happy about. He then (because presumably he realised he was the one at fault there) started having a go at her because their conversation wasn’t confidential and he’d had to wait so long. Well it wasn’t confidential because he was being a stroppy twat and shouting so everyone could hear, it was confidential before that, and people were waiting so long because of people like him.

Its not ideal but equally that’s not all the fault of the staff or the system. Doing phone appts for triage can be really effective and more efficient so you get your issue dealt with faster in some cases. It’s been introduced badly by necessity because of covid and needs shaking up now but I don’t think it should be thrown out personally.

Seems the norm now but I was shocked that my mother was getting sick notes in 2019 to be signed off work without actually seeing a doctor
She's dead now
The old neck injury they were signing here off for was actually throat cancer

It's all very well criticising but I would challenge any of you to do a better job. Yesterday we had 148 appointment requests to share between 2 doctors. A significant proportion didn't require GP help. A larger proportion didn't even do the self care basics but demanded an appointment.

People need to understand realistic expectations.

It has been done for years in some places but the reason it hasn’t been widely rolled out in the UK is because of the perception of patients and some medics that it’s not good / safe although evidence from places where it’s done routinely and is delivered and used appropriately suggests that it works well.

I had similar symptoms of bloating, lower abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits and was referred for an urgent colonoscopy by GP and colitis was diagnosed. Was referred to an IBD clinic, but no appointments for 6 months! So I was left with no treatment and worsening symptoms . GPs just said wait for the hospital appointment. I eventually went private in desperation including a private dietician as the NHS phone calls were unsatisfactory and just running through tick boxes. Now I have meds. and feeling a bit more confident in managing the condition. It seems even with a diagnosis, unless it is seen as life threatening you are left to sink or swim.

In addition, I was told that antibiotics can inflame or trigger bowel issues .

This is awful and makes me realise how lucky I have been with my surgery.
I had an no problem getting an appointment following some strange spotting, where my urine was tested & my abdomen was examined. She then had me in for bloods the next morning and phoned the following day to let me know they had come back clear and arranged for me to have a scan.
I had the scan last week (a week after I was seen) which revealed all was okay but so had a collapsed ovarian cyst. Again, the doctor herself phoned me as soon as she got the results in.
Reading this makes me realise how lucky I have been.

They were not allowed to claim furlough

Are your GP not doing in-person appointments now?

Most seem to be doing a combination of in person and telephone appointments, which I think works really well.

Some things don't need face-to-face and as a patient it is actually convenient for me that I can choose.

Surely you can ring up and ask to be seen IRL?

I lived in London in the 1990s, my GP did telephone appointments then. I have a few chronic medical issues so a phone call saying I could take more medication or get a prescription for something new was useful.

My current GP dopes a mix of telephone, face to face, and video calls.

This is where online consultations have been useful because they offer a basic level of triage, and that patient booking in to ask for dental treatment etc will be redirected and not take up an appointment.

that’s another one: people can’t see a dentist so come to the Gp. The services are all buckling under one another and your GP is the front door. Imagine a concert of 10,000 people trying to fit though only one small door. Those who need surgery aren’t getting it, they are in pain and come to their GP. Mums are struggling with kids who aren’t getting CAMHS and come to GP. It’s the pressure from behind the scenes when everyone feels they are important (they are) but judgement calls have to be made - who can self manage? Many people on this thread were well educated and self aware and took themselves to the same place a GP would have sent them. People asking for help with acute medical conditions that require A&E or bruised ribs (minor injuries?)

Those of you who work in primary care I have one word for you - hayfever 🤣
Despite Fexofenadine being moved to over the counter I am not sure it’s helped…

Go to your local hospital, speak to every member of staff pre and post COVID.

I was told to wait out what turned out to be a bacterial throat infection. I needed 2 weeks of antibiotics to resolve it.

The system is broken.