State of the NHS & GPs

[ChocMarshmallows]

AIBU to worry about the state of the NHS and accessing GPs

It used to be hard to get through to the surgery, with long cues on the phone to get an appointment.

But now .... What kind of new hell is this?

We are no longer allowed to phone the surgery and have to book appointments online. The online portal opens at 8am and shuts within a couple of minutes until the next day.

If u r lucky enough to get a GP appointment after the triage, they r no help, won't prescribe anything because it's all too costly, and won't do any tests for the same reason

My son (age 11) hasn't been to the GP since he was about 5. Finally got him an appointment as he's really ill and we've had various probs over the year which are concerning me. Asked for a blood test because of these problems, and told 'we don't do them anymore unless X, y, z' and although he's really poorly and hasn't had antibiotics for years, he can't have them now because 'we don't give them anymore'.

What is the point of GPs now if you can't access them and they do nothing.

Don't get me started on A&E - a friends waited 18 HOURS to be seen last week

My mum died 2 years ago in an NHS hospital, pretty sure lack of staff, no consistent care, a too long wait time for operation (too late she died before it could happen) contributed.

It's scary and I want this government out NOW before it becomes a case of 'only those rich enough can access health care and expect to live a long healthy life'.

It's not true. Numerous GPs have told you this. Do you think we're lieing for some reason?
Commissioning hasn't existed for oooh er more than 20 years so mayhap you "information" is out of date

IMO this is what blows a hole in "It's all the government's fault", especially when there are huge discrepancies among surgeries even in the same area

Yes - if some GPs can provide something of a workable service, they all can. But choose not to.

If you're seeing GPx2 then that should be reassuring in itself.

I don't think you've mentioned any other symptoms other than fever, what's making you check for a fever? What are you considering a fever? If he's otherwise well and you've just got in a habit of checking temp daily then just stop doing so.

If he's genuinely unwell with the frequency you describe then I can certainly understand why you're concerned as that does sound unusual.

I have seen several instances where similar patterns of school absence and c/o illness has been an excuse to avoid school due to not coping, or a bullying issue which is something worth considering. It's a difficult age with lots of stressors so it's important not to discount mental health as this can have physical symptoms also. Whether this is a possibility or not isn't possible to dx from the limited info given.

It's not true. Numerous GPs have told you this. Do you think we're lieing for some reason? Commissioning hasn't existed for oooh er more than 20 years so mayhap you "information" is out of date

Numerous GPs have not told me this. I've only just posted about it. And commissioning was only abolished in 2022!

If some GPs can provide something of a workable service, they all can

Since you said "something" of a workable service rather than a perfect one I'll agree, but really what I was trying to convey is that it's a lot more complex then just "blame the Tories" (and no, I'm not a supporter)

If, for example, a GP has left surgery a and surgery b is still fully staffed that'll obviously make a difference - but it doesn't explain all of it, and it certainly doesn't explain why they're being allowed to use NHS time for private practice

Blood tests that aren’t really needed can cause more trouble than they’re worth.

I’m in Australia and my GP is keen on routine blood tests as a sort of MOT. No doubt many Mumsnetters would love this but there are downsides. My liver function test flagged an abnormally high either ALP or ALT. Now my GP is taking possible liver scans / ultrasounds. I barely drink and have never had liver issues in my life.

Did a retest a couple of weeks later and the levels were normal. GP told me ‘maybe you had a virus’. To be honest I would have rather never known.

I'm saying it's fever because it is. He is baking hot, shivering and complaining of being cold. I have to give him a hot water bottle and he snuggles under the duvet to warm up despite having a high temperature. Other symptoms have included headache, fatigue and nausea and more recently "feeling like I've been punched across the whole of my body" (which I take to mean body aches). These are frequent episodes, though he has also experienced more than his fair share of colds, coughs, flu, COVID, eye infections, throat infections, you name it.

A couple of examples of my experience with my surgery recently.

1. I was given a cancer diagnosis over the phone ( new rules since covid)
2. I had a nurses appt for blood tests and urine .

Had to make a telephone appointment for a doctor and the nurse ( separately)for the results .

1. Doctor called me with the blood results and a prescription for new meds.

Nurse calls me to tell me I had a urine infection and she would arrange a prescription . Doctor number 2 calls me with a prescription for meds for my blood pressure . All in the same day !! It took 3 people to do the job of one . Crazy times we are in now .

What private service?? Another completely rubbish comment stated as absolute fact

memorial - just wondering why you are so defensive and dismissive ? Are you a GP? Work for a GP? Had a complaint against you as a medical practitioner? Burnt out NHS worker?

I'm not even going to try and explain GP contracts and funding. I'm sure your Google search knows better. You just crack on I don't even know why I give a shit.

Hang on so you think because your child doesn't attend the gp often he should have had mega priority over everyone else? That's told our cancer patients! Oh sorry I can't take you seriously today because a child who hasn't attended the gp for 5 years needs an appointment because his mum thinks he needs antibiotics?

Sorry that's not how GPS work.

That is certainly not the norm. We nearly always have appointments left at the end of the day.

You could always join push GP and pay £60 for a private prescription if you manipulate the online system to giving you antibiotics.

That might be your best bet

I prefer how it is now. GPs or nurses can text and you can reply with e.g. photos
prefer phone appts in general and they can see you F2F as well. There is an email appointments address and also can book phone appts ahead via the online system, also order prescriptions online etc.

I'm amazed how quick they are at responding. they seem to have really good admin staff.

No I don't think that. The reason I said he hasn't been for so long is to highlight that I'm not just an anxious parent (which some peie have implied), and I don't take him to the GP lightly. I thought as he's not seen the doctor for so long, the doctor might understand that maybe I have a genuine concern. That's not to say people who need to go alot don't also have genuine concerns. My mum was always at the GP, necessarily, and she would worry that the gp wouldn't take her seriously because she went alot. And actually once or twice that did happen. But she needed to be seen a lot and that's fair enough.

Cancer patients? Of course they should be given priority where needed. Of course. But my concern is that my son may have something serious and I don't understand why we were fobbed off when I have concerns.

Crikey Mumsnet is quite attacking these days!! I'm also surprised by the vitriol! I didn't think I was alone in my worries about the NHS and this Tory government! But I'm wrong!!

What private service?? Another completely rubbish comment stated as absolute fact

The private appointments which my previous GP was using phone access to offer, memorial - as a way of seeing them quicker or at all, and not "out of hours", but at times when he was scheduled to be seeing NHS patients

I'm sorry if this doesn't suit, but I'm not in the habit of telling lies and it happened. Worse, it's still happening, despite a number of complaints being made

Never heard of it, but I'll take a look, thanks. It's more the blood test I want though. Despite the attacking I'm getting from some on here, I am genuinely worried about my son and want him to have a thorough check over and some bloods done.

It's concerning that some gps are so dismissive of patient experience. We can't all be wrong about our bad experiences.

Have you tried changing practice?
We moved last year from an absolutely appalling one (N&S Modality Partnership) to a brilliant one. They are a teaching practice and have about 8 trainee Drs who have longer appointments and are supernumerary so extra staff.
We have gone from a practice who refused to see my Dad with cancer symptoms to one who gave my son a FTF appointment this week - from ringing up to being at home with an appropriate prescription (not antibiotics) was just over an hour.
My Dad rang BUPA who gave him a direct access consultant appointment and he’s currently in hospital recovering from the surgery.

YABU not sure what part of the UK you in but this procedure is definitely not all surgeries. Maybe you should move to a different surgery

I'm thinking of BUPA or another private provider for my son. I think you can get one off private GP appointments. It's likely quite expensive but I do want to be taken seriously.

Out of interest, what roles do your family have in the NHS? I am a hospital doctor and would never dream of saying such a thing. My team and I all know how hard GPs are working. I did a GP placement during my foundation training and it was by far the most difficult job I have had (despite my previous job involving 80 hour weeks and frequent night shifts) - it was utterly relentless.

Also, not sure it's super relevant anyway, but why shouldn't someone be able to work part time? GPs have families and other commitments too, and their part time hours are often close to what people consider full time hours anyway!

I work in hospital based medicine (oncology to be precise) and you couldn't pay me enough to be a GP. An absolute thankless job most of the time with frequent undeserved abuse, rude, entitled patients who think they can demand whatever they want and made out to be lazy and uncaring with constant media bashing full of lies and gross exaggerations. I don't know a single GP, part time or otherwise, who doesn't work themselves into the ground at the expense of their mental and physical health, work life balance and time with family and friends. And for what, to be treated like utter cr*p and told to suck it up because they chose a caring profession? Is it any wonder that GPs are leaving, reducing hours and retiring early in droves? Why would they stay under such conditions? Of course you get some bad eggs in all jobs but the overwhelming majority care deeply, face very real burnout and get little back for their trouble except constant criticism and hugely unrealistic expectations.

OP, you are not being unreasonable to be concerned about your son at all but do need to understand how the system works. I won't go over what others have already explained but it is the GPs' job and expertise to make any clinical decisions of this type. Certainly seek a second opinion or a new surgery if that's an option for you though.

I will also say that working on the other side, hospitals will not accept referrals for many things such as suspected cancers if a hell of a lot of eligibility criterion are not met. Referral forms are very detailed and need good evidence of a specific concern or will be rejected. Most services are so incredibly stretched after the pandemic (was bad before however) that 'just in case' requests just cannot be accommodated at all.

Others on this thread are VERY VERY much being unreasonable though (I'd love to use a stronger word) and I've had to massively bite my tongue because their comments are just so unfair, untrue and ridiculous, that there is no point arguing with such ill-informed claptrap. Some of the comments are truly despicable. Not hard to see who is actually 'the worst' here.

Try Benenden