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.

You won't have patients coming for minor issues unless they are covered by a medical card

I live in Mexico and I know lots of people who pay to see their doctors for minor ailments.

But again, from what I can see, there are just not enough doctors in the UK. My dd's friend is a GP and sees something like 70 people on a shift. At that rate, of course the doctor is going to miss vital details about your health condition and of course the doctor is going to resent someone coming in who should have been triaged out.

Sorry I've not rtft but I would 100% say YANBU OP.

My Mum lives at the GP. Yes she has a number of (well managed) conditions and is disabled but half the time it is for ridiculous things like 'my finger is swollen' - her fingers swell all the time because of one of her conditions, it can't be helped and there is nothing GP can do but still every.single.time she will get an appointment just to be told the same thing.

My Dad went to A&E because he had a sore throat (day it started) and he couldn't get a GP appointment. Shockingly enough it was a virus but GP complaint still went in as he couldn't get an appointment.

DNephew is grown now but as a child SIL would take him to the GP for ridiculous things like 'he fell in the playground yesterday and now there is a bruise on his knee' - well yeah no shit, what do you want the GP to do.

I've been very ill (suspected m.e/c.f.s) and my G.P has been amazing.

Last week g.p had asked me to come in again because after sending me to a&e a few days before they had done nothing but prescribe diazepam (didn't help at all). So I was sat there twitching away slumped in the packed waiting room, and the receptionist came out to say there was a delay, but then my Dr called me in straight away. I'm guessing they knew I was too ill to be sitting waiting. I'm waiting on an urgent brain scan now.

There are a lot of people that seem to go for minor complaints, but it's the same in a&e. When I was there a few weeks back (g.p sent me as vomiting "coffee grounds") it was packed. I was so ill I couldn't sit up so spent 6 hours lying on the floor before seeing a Dr. I was pretty out of it but there seemed to be loads of not too unwell people with lots of family being loud.

People should be able to see a g.p when they need to and yes some are silly about it, but the main blame lies with the lack of staff and money.

I cried and said please no when g.p. told me to go a&e 2nd time. I've developed a few new symptoms- which I should probably be making an appointment for tomorrow... but I know g.p won't be able to do anything more: ask me to go to a&e again but I'm too ill for that, and I'm already waiting on the urgent scan.

Overall I am grateful that the n.h.s is there to help us when we need it, but there are just too many people and not enough Doctors, not enough funding, and a bad attitude from many people, making it worse.

Second that. Thank all of you. I rely on you and your fellow HCPs to keep my life livable, and you do it. I am massive drain on the economy due to cost of the drugs you prescribe me, and yet you do it time after time. So my pain is mostly controlled, my mind is kept relatively clear, my bladder and bowels work albeit imperfectly and so on and so on. So yes, thank you.

There are many many things I could seriously complain about in my life, but the care I get from your fellow GPs, neurologists, countless types of nurses and all the others, is not one of them.
BIG flowers!

I wish I hadn’t read this.

I expect I will cancel my GP appointment that I have on Thursday now. It has taken me months to get over my anxiety that I’ll be wasting the Drs time and book an appointment.

Ive had (possibly) peri menopausal symptoms for over a year. It’s effected my mental health, my marriage and my relationship with my children. I can’t sleep, I can’t focus and I feel like I’m going mad.

I can’t go to the GP worrying that she’s going to think I’m a time waster who’s watched too much tv. I just can’t.

@Blue4YOU I say this with all the empathy in the world - seek support with your mental health so you can begin to heal from these experiences.

@Moaningturtle1 why not? You have symptoms that need to be discussed. They are causing distress, impacting on your relationships and your ability to function. What the OP meant is that some menopausal women think their experiences and symptoms should be taken more seriously than those potentially pointing at cancer, or chronic conditions such as asthma or diabetes, and so on.

And yet some GPs, like you, still cope and I applaud you.

I was diagnosed with BC a year ago in routine screening. have had surgery, chemo, radiotherapy. I haven't needed to see my gp, I'm OK, carried on working, running, cycling, caring for my son, maintaining fitness and yet my GP still managed to find time to give me a courtesy call, just to check I'm coping. A little bit of extra reassurance. So thank you to all GPs.

the post about menopausal women felt very mocking. I will worry my whole appointment and for sometime after that my gp is thinking the same. The OP could be my gp for all I know. It’s mortifying, I’d rather not go and try and get some HRT online from another country.

The system is broken. Yes there are poor doctors out there, yes there are mistakes made and no OP is not saying people shouldn’t use their GP’s but that some self care is appropriate. It is scary to see the overspill come to A &E, I used to be a receptionist and there is a growing number who seem to think that everything should be better immediately. Medicine does not work like that generally. I have had people demand to see a doctor for plasters, repeat prescriptions because they have yet again not requested them in time. Has been vomiting for a few hours and when asked if there are any specific reasons they came in like abdominal pain or blood am told no I just can’t put up with this. A man who complained someone went in before him and didn’t we know who he was. The man who went in first was actually having a heart attack. I’ve seen people bring children in with severe abdo pain, scream and swear because we are shit and then go buy KFC for said child with the worst ever pain. The number of people who end up missing planned treatments regularly and then end up in A&E is astounding. It’s frustrating because these people rarely try anything at home or don’t comply with treatments and it’s the same reasoning, they’re after a quick fix. OP is correct when she says self care is in decline. Sure some patients will have complication because of other illnesses etc but there is a growing number who want it sorted now because they don’t want to wait.

OP you are fucking amazing. Some of the comments on here are horrendous- don't listen.

I have an often very ill ittle boy. In the 10 years of his life our GP and numerous hospital departments have been utterly amazing. The medication he's on would bankrupt us if we didn't have the NHS. We owe you and your kind everything.

Ex-H is a senior radiographer and had to deal with a complaint the other day: a woman had a 9am appointment, attended early.at 8:40am, was seen at 8:45am and had left the department by 9am. Her complaint? The letter informed her to allow 2 hours in case of queues/ emergency surgery needed elsewhere etc: she was irritated because she had unnecessarily taken 2 hours off of work. WTF? Like, really, WTF?!

Mu sister is another who is at the GP for every, little thing all the bloody time- drives me insane.

Ex ward sister and midwife here 40 years experience and I agree entirely with OP. We have brought up two generations of the worried well. A society dependant on others to "fix" all manner of things instead of taking responsibility for ourselves, for our own wellbeing. To strive to be well and gain some life skills
Older generations imagined themselves generally well and relied on their bodies to fix themselves given a little time. Now every little ache and pain has to be a drama! Oh woe is me!
The worried well imagine the worst of every scenario..... A paper cut will turn into septicaemia, 😱A cold and high temp into pneumonia, 😱a simple headache catastrophises into a brain tumour.
In an age of instant gratification the Deliveroo generations expect instantaneous results.
Time now patients started paying for a GP consult. You wouldn't withhold the £60 you pay for your precious pets vet consultation so why not charge for GP consults. That would get rid of a lot of the timewasters.

I agree, I did an agency shift recently and there was a teenager who'd vomited 4 times and had diarrhoea. But was otherwise fit and well. And drinking well. I couldn't believe her mum had brought her to A&E. rather than tuck her up on the sofa with some dioralite, and wait it out.

Imagine going to a GP with health complaints? Fucking ridiculous 🙄

I say 'going' - more likely spend hours on the phone trying to make an appointment, then, (if you're lucky!) sit by your phone all day waiting for a callback (because patients time is far less important than precious GPs!)

It's shameful for a GP to write this shit on a public forum; people already think they shouldn't bother the NHS, cos they're sooooo busy - how many people do you think will read your post then think 'shit, that thing that's been bothering me - I'll just leave it, I don't want to bother the Dr'? Shameful.

If you're feeling stressed direct the blame where it belongs, not the patients who come to you for help (because let's face it, it's not fucking easy to see a GP these days!) Yes you'll get time-wasters, but there's ALWAYS been time-wasters, it isn't a new phenomenon - some people get really anxious about their health, and we've just had a pandemic with the daily death toll as breaking news every single day, is it any wonder people are anxious?

The Thursday night applause really has gone to some people's heads. You're doing a job that you are paid well for; if you don't like it leave.

In most countries, going to a primary healthcare provider is not completely free. The UK is unusual in this respect. Maybe it encourages pisstaking? Some people do seem to be in the habit of running to the GP for anything and everything.

In a way your posts are a good exercise in empathy for me, having worked in (and left) schools - which are similarly subjected to government underfunding/political football tactics/pay freezes or undermining of existing pay structures - just like the NHS.
So I understand the feeling of just having had enough of a system that ultimately needs reforming and (dare I say) for everyone to take some of the responsibility in enacting reform or change...

I do think you’re right in some ways, my younger self went to the doctor expecting a tablet or remedy to cure me.

Nowadays I’d like nothing than a more rounded conversation with my doctor on how I can feel better - unfortunately I make the list of chronic conditions that most doctors feel are not a priority.

I’m one of the people who has been multiple times about IBS, ongoing coughs (hacking smokers cough for months on end despite ever having smoked in my life), ongoing ear issues. I go because some of these were absolutely debilitating - only just manageable now (see the IBS threads).
If patients aren’t taking medication ask them why (for me-inhaler didn’t help, and medication like antacids/antibiotics potentially exacerbated IBS).

Your PP about menopause shows how patients (myself included) might feel somewhat dismissed/like they’re ‘bothering’ their doctor (which is what many people are trying to communicate with their various examples on here). Yet It’s hard to know what to leave to heal or not. Sometimes patients don’t know how to eat for optimum health - the medical model of a ‘healthy diet’ has actually been questioned recently. Research on gut biome and FODMAPs advice has only recently provided some relief to many IBS sufferers.

You sound like you do care about your patients, so I hope you feel better after a sleep. If you decide to stay, I agree with PP about Dr Chaterjee’s work!

What do you think would help, OP? Genuinely interested btw rather than being sarcastic. Obviously we need more GPS to be trained. Seems like there are social factors here that are not easy to fix. Certainly most people are facing an anxious winter and some real destitution.

I’ve had experiences of good and at times amazing GP’s, and unfortunately some not so great ones. I think all health care professionals in both emergency, primary and secondary/ongoing care are in difficult positions as are the patients. The NHS has been underfunded for years, on top of BREXIT and COVID and an ever ageing population (an ageing population that successive governments knew about but just buried their head in the sand about). It’s a perfect storm of fucked-upness.

Patients, the public and ALL health care professionals are reaping the outcome of shitty governments and mismanagement.
none of us are winning here and it’s none of our faults…..we need a complete overhaul with a funding plan that covers todays reality going forward in the future…..I do not think we will get that, even with a different party in power as there is too much ‘firefighting’ to be done before rebuilding can happen.

I’m a student nurse, about to go into my third year! I wish I knew two years ago what I know now. Burnout is real, I’m not even technically doing the job, let alone registered yet and I’m close to burnout. I’ll finish my third year because I’m bloody pig headed and stubborn as fuck but I see it from the other side now. I’m currently on placement on a ward, it’s shit, stirred up with a shit stick, 1, maybe 2 if we’re lucky, registered nurses and 1 HCA to 24 patients! It’s not safe nor sustainable long term. Something will have to give and it’s likely to be something catastrophic! i will never, ever go in to ward based nursing, I’d rather work retail!

I know we all, the public and HCP’s alike need to stand together, if we’re at each other’s throats then the current government have us where they want us!

It is going to be a catastrophically explosive few years for us here in the U.K and I think if anyone can overcome this it’s us.

Yes, this is what my father, who is also a GP, sees, and he has retired because he found it so crap. People will come in again and again for the same problem, but they won't do the things he has told them to manage the issue.

They also seem to have an idea that they will be perfectly comfortable all the time.

I think this may dovetail with some other cultural trends, safteyism, the medicalization of normal life, a kind of passivity.

Stomach pain for the 100th consult in the 20 years I've known them. Investigated so many many times. So many discussion about IBS and self care.

Are you sure it's IBS? Only, I had severe stomach pain as a child and the GP could never find anything really wrong so put it down to IBS. It wasn't. As an adult, I've come to realise I cannot burp! There is a problem with the sphincter muscle in my throat that won't allow air to pass back up as it should. I can't drink fizzy drinks for this reason or I end up doubled over in pain. Many doctors aren't even aware of it being a thing.

The little old man

Could you be any more patronising?

If you’re a GP, I’m Beyoncé.

Some of the posters crying out for empathy and making sniggering comments at op are ironically seeming devoid of any empathy whatsoever.

My GP couldn't have been better when my daughter had a seizure that resulted in her going in to respiratory failure and put on a vent. He called me and helped me understand what was happening, what they would do next and frankly all the things the hospital was to dammed busy and understaffed to do. He was a human. The hospital saved my daughters life but that gp saved my mental health and for that I will always be grateful. Thankfully my Dd made a full recovery but it was enough for me to be grateful for life to that gp

I had seen him post the birth and death of my son first so he knew what it was like being back at that hospital for me..

For all the crappy human beings out there, I want to say the people you have helped will remember for a life time.

That said get out while your sanity is intact, the people sniggering won't be when we are like the USA and a cancer diagnosis means that without insurance your up sht creek without a paddle and they come for your house. I worked for insurance that dealt with USA healthcare billing system. I know what I'm talking about here.

the GP sent me to A&E last week, and boy it was an eye opener. There seemed to be at least three hangers on for each patient. I don’t get that. Who on earth needs they
ir husband and their sister and their sisters kid with them in A&E at a time when there is still a virus circulating?

but on to GPs. Unlike it seems Ireland most of our GPs these days are women, who go into the speciality for the flexibility. Every GP I know is part time. It’s impossible to work full time - it’s too stressful they tell me. But is it not stressful because they are over worked because there are too few GPs because they are all part time? We are expanding the number of places at medical school but we are also expanding the number of female medicine students - it’s well over 50% now, more like 60%. I can’t see the extra places in medical school making a difference until the part time working is factored into the workforce planning. Things are not going to get better for decades.

And can we please bring back bursaries for nursing and midwifery? Incentivise these vital roles with higher pay too? What happens in the UK when the midwife shortage becomes such that you have to deliver your own baby? It’s scary and dangerous.

I don’t know why Liz truss thinks we can afford tax cuts. We have basic services on their knees through lack of funding.

Perhaps if doctors did there Job properly and actually listened to the patients then GPs would not be like this. And yes I'm talking about personal experience and that of a friend to.

Not the thread for your gripe. There are so many threads where you can complain about things, this is one where we can support the OP.