To think that people have become completely incapable....

[memorial]

Ok so I'm a GP (yes yes I know I could be anybody) and have been for over 20 years.
But bloody hell our society have become completely and utter incapable of any kind of self care or self responsibility. I have never known anything like the kind of demand we are facing. And I'm sorry most of it is just complete and utter nonsense. Over and over again.
Genuinely ill and needy people are being lost in the deluge. It's absolutely impossible to offer any kind of decent care. And we are losing doctors, nurses and staff rapidly. And we cannot recruit. It's not about pay It's about absolutely ridiculous workload and risk.
Yes the system is broken yes we need more of everything.
But every single thing does not need GP hand holding. It doesn't need 2 page complaints because you didn't get what you wanted when you wanted it.
Some days I just think people won't be happy until I go and wipe their arses for them.
I'm done. And it's not just me.

Why were people not so silly and selfish 15 years ago?

Oh they were! I was reading the OP's posts and thinking, it's been this way for years. I was a receptionist at my former husband's practice for many years. He was a GP for 30 years. Believe me, it was a shitshow then and most patients were completely and entirely dependent in various ways on the GPs to manage their lives. I've had my share of the abuse, the vomit down my clothing, the walking stick smacked across my hands, the shouting, the desperation, the rage that comes with people who are terrified, struggling, alone, forgotten about, hungry, poor, addicted, ill, or not at all ill just assholes. Patients are all walks of life and they all deserve to be treated with some sort of dignity- which is a big ask most of the time.

I think now the problem has worsened for sure. I also think that the NHS in the past decade has been terribly managed by CCGs. In all honesty, I think when PCTs were scrapped in favour of CCGs, our troubles truly began and the NHS was never going to be able to handle a pandemic and its knock-on effects, which we are facing now. Not that PCTs were outstanding. But since 2013, the NHS has rapidly become a much more privatised, for profit, flogged to death behemoth, outsourcing everything it can to private, for profit (and many American!) organisations whose purpose is far from delivering quality care to patients. We are not given two shits about as patients and GPs are part of that shitty system... they oil that machine, against their will for the most part, but they oil it all the same because...well, what choice do they have? What choice do patients have? It's a terrible system, the NHS.

Very patronising about IBS. It can severely impact people’s quality of life, and anyone I know who has it, does everything in their power to manage their own condition as best they can!

As for the remarks about the menopause…

And as for the lack of personal responsibility with obesity, smoking, drinking and poor diet and the resulting ill health, I despair.

Because they don't have to pay for the script. Conjunctivitis is one of the 25 medications they no longer prescribe. But said they will make exceptions in some circumstances. I'm guessing if it's a choice between eating and paying for a script they will get it prescribed.

I used to get sty's a lot. But there was twice I had an allergic reaction to two different OTC treatment's. It literally swelled up golf ball size boil and I could hardly see out of that eye. The last time it happened the doctor told me to make an appointment. Instead of using OTC as there's a risk of losing your sight. I was prescribed antibiotics as well as drops. Luckily i haven't had one since.

Hm. Have you considered the system has been set up to favour time wasters? That people don't get seen/responded to unless they are annoying bastards?

If you are finding responding as front-line to people with worries is getting to you, then being a GP is definitely not the job for you. As pps have said, a GP is there largely for triage purposes. To signpost to other services. Or even, yes, to reassure and comfort. It's your job to sort the more serious and treatable issues from those which don't need treatment - and that is itself a valuable service.

Maybe time for a break.

I'm so sorry to read this; it sounds unbearable. And whilst I understand that people are frustrated that it can be so hard to get to see a doctor, I'm honestly quite shocked at some of the vitriolic responses.

Thank you for your work. GPs have saved my life on two occasions.

But the facts of the matter is that there are many health related tvseries and radio progs, Joe Wicks was. a household name interviewed on countless progs during lockdown. We ALL know to eat less and exercise more - it's a waste of a doctors time.
Perhaps coming face to face with your doc pushes them onto the tight path but I would suspect it actually needs 5 visits face to face, several chats with a dietician , physio overseeing exercise etc and maybe, just maybe they'll improve but most likely long term they won't.
It's unfair on all the others in the queue

I used to work for a GP and everyday people would demand emergency appointments for things like cold sores, runny noses, mild headache for a day, grazed knee

yes but that's all back in the dim and distant past now. Everyone knows they can't see a GP for those things (or anything else come to that).

What annoys me is that the people who call in every week get more attention that those of us who go once every 5 years. Surely if someone comes in who doesn't normally, that's an indication that something may really be wrong? But GPs don't seem to see it that way - we're the time wasters if it proves to be nothing.

What we really need is more minor illness/injury services that nurses and paramedics can staff, and GPs can deal with the actual serious stuff. We don't have a minor injuries unit in our town, it would make such a difference to have one.

It can, but it doesn't mean that there is a magic cure that the Dr in witholding from you.

I swear that some patients think we have a magic class of pain relief that we withold from patients for the kicks. Sometimes medical conditions are not treatable, sometimes barely even managable. This is nobodies fault but multiple visits to the GP is not going to change that.

Charge people to see their GP 's and watch the attendance fall off a cliff
I know I'll be flamed , but if it's as bad the op and others are saying it is it's the only way to stop it. The only thing that would work.
Also to see a doctor at A and E for non urgent aliments too.
It's really not the best idea, but it might focus a few minds.

OP, I can appreciate that your workload is high and it must be frustrating.

Many jobs have heavy workloads and challenges, not least, mine. I worked throughout the pandemic, often on the frontline when safeguarding issues demanded that. I, too, deal with many people who, if no empathy or understanding was afforded, could be said to be taking up time and resources. Yet, you must know as a GP that whatever symptom a person presents with is not necessarily the key underlying issue. The reticence to exercise or do physio exercise may be linked to depression or having no time or being exhausted. The repeated presentation of a seemingly innocuous symptom might be the forerunner to someone disclosing that their partner or family abuses them. Don't have a go at your patients. Instead, scratch the surface of why they present so frequently like this. Advocate for changing the system if it irks you that much. Or, move to a job that doesn't pay you for the privilege of making decisions about people's lives.

GP pay is on average around £63k (digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/gp-earnings-and-expenses-estimates/2019-20). As a social worker, I get paid £35k. I would bet that my working hours match yours at the least. I would bet as well that the quantity of my paperwork is the same as yours; that my caseload is as equally high and often complex with numerous Court reports to write and appearances in Court to defend decision-making.

What I'm trying to say here is that I think your irritation is misplaced.

Havent rtft but for 0 hour workers they might need to see the gp so they can claim sickness pay. Or let's not forget the job centre want sick notes all the time.
Nursery quite often wont take dc if they are too full of cold.
That's just people who dont need to see a gp for themselves but to satisfy other people.
Let's also not forget quite often people camt afford to keep paying for OTC medication when the dr can prescribe a pill and you know its going to be £10

Not saying these are right but just pointing out why these people are wanting to see a gp.

GP too here. I hear you OP and I and all the GPs I work with feel the same way. Something has got to give, and currently it feels like that will be us leaving our jobs first before anything changes.

It's depressing and I don't know what the solution is but phoning the GP gives me massive anxiety. It's not like we are trained medics who know what is or isn't serious - and when you read all the advice on mental health or other "possible" conditions it all points to getting it checked by the GP! Obviously I'm not talking about cold symptoms. But things like a cough that doesn't go away after a few weeks or feeling depressed (when is it "bad" enough). Or finding a lump - which ones should we worry about? Oh if in doubt get it checked by your GP/ talk to your GP - you don't have to suffer... is the answer.

I understand your frustration OP and your empathy bank being empty but the messaging needs to be clearer, the system needs an overhaul and money needs to be spent. I don't see any of that happening anytime soon. People simultaneously criticise the NHS and resist changing it.

FWIW our GP practice is amazing. Some people have poor Gp/nurse etc experiences and those are the ones that stick out, but the vast majority receive a good service.

Needs far more GPS and nurses employing g, but we all know that.

I think it's far more a sense of entitlement than an erosion of trust that people clog up public services. I wouldn't conflate the two, they are two separate issues, time wasting patients and GPs that are incompetent

I think it's difficult to separate the two entirely. There is undoubtedly a sense of entitlement and a total lack of comprehension about how much healthcare costs, but the expectation of being given the run-around by a recalcitrant GP and (if you're lucky) referred for secondary services that don't exist (not GP's fault) just contributes to the kind of behaviour that the OP is complaining about. Like the toilet roll-snaffling done by entitled tossers pre-pandemic.

For example, my poor experiences with GP's meant that when NHS guidelines recommended something while pregnant with DS, I printed off the NHS guidelines, highlighted the relevant bits, made a GP appointment and demanded it. I had zero confidence that it would happen if I left it to "the system" simply because the system doesn't work, and hasn't functioned well in living memory.

A child "full of cold" isn't going to become not full of cold by attending the GP. If you are insinuation that they need antibiotics for a viral infections just to appease the nursery, then your lack of even basic medical knowledge and clear misuse of GP services are part of the problem.

This sort of 'specialist ' knowledge is the sort of thing that populates SM and slowly chips away at peoples trust.
We all know what Doctor means in a medical and society sense. Stuff like this attempts to bring them down and suggest they are the same as anyone else. They are not, they have trained in healthcare

I agree with this. It’s hammered into us that many serious illnesses start off mild and once those symptoms are severe it’s almost too late. We’re told ‘if in doubt, get it checked out’.

my 1 year old had a temp and a sore ear. I took him to the doctor and he checked his ears and said there’s nothing wrong with them. Told me to give him calpol for his temp, so off I went and did as advised. Two days later he was in a bad way with his ear, so off I went back to the doctor. This time I was really made to feel like I was an over-reactive mother wasting time. He told me his ear is just sore and it’ll get better in time and to continue the calpol.

that night his temp topped 40 and his screaming was high pitched. He developed a rash so I rushed him to A&E where he was diagnosed with sepsis stemming from a severe ear infection and put on IV antibiotics. If I had continued with the doctors advice he would have been dead.

if the doctor had just given him antibiotics in the first place he should have been ok, would have been less visits to the NHS and would have cost far less.

I hope some of the comments I’ve seen on here don’t put off any mothers who are concerned about some symptoms that have developed in their child in seeking medical advice.

@plantseverywhere

I hear you. I've been fobbed off for musculoskeletal pain for months by my GP. I've been told it's anxiety, I just need to stop thinking about it etc etc.

In the end I used my savings to pay for a private GP appointment and MRI scan. This finally got me a diagnosis - yes, I do have a physical problem, I wasn't imagining it! - and a treatment plan. I'm already feeling so much better after just a couple of weeks of having the right exercises to do for my specific problem.

I know it's not cheap, but if you've got some savings, I would honestly pay for private care. NHS GPs are never going to refer you for an MRI scan for musculoskeletal pain, and without an MRI, any attempt at diagnosis is just going to be guesswork.

I do understand you OP. I am menopausal and on HRT (patches) which are great apart from the constant bleed for five months and counting. I have been assured this is totally normal and no need for concern. However I am nearly out of patches but I can’t get another prescription until I’ve had an HRT review - which I can’t have as the triage system says I should just request a repeat - which I do and the pharmacist gets a note saying no prescription until review with GP. GP I spoke to last week to review another chronic condition I have renewed the medications I have for that but said he wasn’t couldn’t do the HRT as only Dr (name) does them. I haven’t had a face to face with a medic that I didn’t pay to see for three years! I don’t expect HRT to take precedence but I am now in the position where I stop taking it or once again dip into my savings and get it privately.

@itsjustnotok I'm not talking about that! Of course people should take care of their own minor ailments. In the last 15 years I have managed to diagnose and treat lichenosis, plantar fasciitis (both painful and irritating but obviously not life threatening), two flare ups of endometriosis (wasn't able to diagnose it the first time as there wasn't the publicity 15 years ago - I was infertile and seriously unwell by the time it was diagnosed), a pelvic infection and serious varicose veins leading to a threatened DVT (spotted that thanks to an infra red camera at a science centre!).

Luckily as I've been proactive I can still work and pay tax.

Oh and diagnosed DC's ADHD and ASD (confirmed privately). And sorted out her many podiatry and physio problems privately (spent about £5k so far). Been trying to get an NHS paediatrician appointment for her since before the first lockdown.

We're just unlucky that's all. Apart from my dodgy veins and reproductive system and her dodgy ligaments and different brain, we're in perfect health.

I've paid about £6k in insurance premiums since giving up on the NHS and maybe twice that out of pocket. No insurer will cover the DC stuff.

And nearly all the private things require a GP referral, go figure.

No complaints about my GP. They're fine. They just can't do anything.

Very patronising about IBS. It can severely impact people’s quality of life, and anyone I know who has it, does everything in their power to manage their own condition as best they can!

Always worth pointing out that IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion that should not be made until other, more death-y causes (like bowel cancer) have been ruled out. People are routinely fobbed off with "IBS" by GP's - I was one of them, and now I don't have a colon.

Doesn't sound like a poor experience at all. I quite understand the receptionist getting huffy. If you can't be bothered to prioritise your health, why should anyone else?

Why do you expect a fuss? It's a routine test not an 'experience'. You aren't there to chat, get on with it and then leave them to get on with their day.

It's very hard as many health issues are self inflicted if you like or could be improved by lifestyle changes.

Saying something about self improvement is often taken as an insult.

I am not referring to just obesity but exercise, healthy eating and a routine really helps people with MH issues, anxiety, fatigue, type 2 diabetes etc.