GP won't see DS without a covid test

[justasking111]

DS adult has been really poorly with something which has gone to his chest, when his little boy had it wound up on antibiotics and steroids.

My DIL tried to make an appointment for him but the receptionist said GP wouldn't see him without a covid test. So she went to the in-house pharmacy for a covid test kit who said we don't carry those you'll have to order elsewhere online.

Is it reasonable for GPs to still insist on covid tests when their own pharmacy doesn't carry them?

So you would be happy for a doctor, their family and other vulnerable people to be put at risk?

Madness from GP. You shouldn’t have to buy a test if GPS are now asking for tests again. They should provide you with one foc at the surgery.

Just go to a chemist and ask to buy them our GP did this recently and it's understandable

@LunaTheCat you don’t work in health if you worry about that. Doctors and nurses in hospital have to cope. Windows open, masks and washing hands as we all know!

Or he's clinically vulnerable and trying some damage limitation to allow him to see patients?

If a GP is clinically extremely vulnerable then general practice probably isn't the right post for them.

Just a few months ago I’d have said incredibly ridiculous but Covid is everywhere at the moment- we all had it and to say we were flattened (and still are, weeks later), is an understatement, headaches, incredibly sore throats, and awful coughs, couldn’t keep eyes open we’re so lethargic and so contagious- easy to say it’s ridiculous but my mums consultant had it and was out for 3 weeks, we saw her recently and she’s like a shadow

Probably not. Maybe it's. Close member of his family.
My mum was a TA, she got cancer after she got the job. Fortunately, she was in a position to retire after she'd completed her treatment, because her immunity was shut to pieces.

Why are so many posts referring to the gp as a 'he'? OP hasn't specified male or female. Unconscious bias here a lot.

It’s ridiculous!! Gps see to make every excuse not to see patients now . I makes me so angry as GeV forbid a doctor should see a sick person 😡 and if they think you are sick they now send you to a and e !!!!!

Oh stop it, it’s not 2020!

So long as we still have a free at the point use healthcare system it’s absolutely unacceptable to insist that a patient has to purchase a private test in order to access basic medical care.

Re testing accuracy those are facts- the home tests are not completely accurate hence why we did PCR at the height of the pandemic, most old free ones are approaching the end of their lives and apparently the new strains don’t show up on the old tests either. So a negative on a home test doesn’t mean anything- or so said my GP about 3 days ago.

Also, there’s no home test for all the other infectious diseases a GP has to see people with. Would they also refuse to see a flu case? They can of course wear a mask, gloves, open windows, wash hands etc but refusing to see unwell patients and/or insisting they buy private tests first does not follow NHS guidance or standard practice and shouldn’t be allowed.

GP is really not the job for them then, is it? There’s a multitude of infections diseases they’d be exposed to. That’s literally the nature of their job.

Perhaps it's to protect the other people in the waiting room - maybe Covid positive people wait in a separate waiting area?I caught chicken pox in a waiting area when I was registering my pregnancy with DS2. There was a child sitting there covered in spots. When I went to the GP a couple of weeks later with suspected chicken pox I was put into a private small room to wait so I wouldn't pass it on to anyone else who was vulnerable. Thankfully DS2 was fine, but we weren't sure until he was born....

The hospital trust I work for has recently removed the need for staff to test if they have Covid symptoms or to test negative before coming back to work if they have tested. It's treated as any other illness, if you are too unwell to work call in sick, if not come in and work.

Out of interest, would everyone be happy to be seen by an HCP who had respiratory symptoms but hadn’t done a test?

As tests are not free for most people I think the gp should have given them the test for free if that’s their requirement….otherwise people will just lie which defeats the whole purpose doesn’t it?

Our Dr's surgery did this for over a year including for children and it was a PCR test required!
Thankfully they stopped it over 12 months ago

Yes of course. We’re heading into winter so colds are everywhere. If they feel well enough to be at work then that’s that because the NHS isn’t providing tests or paying anyone to isolate any more. Why would anyone expect anything else?

What proof does he require that you've done a test other than "I've done a test and it was negative?"

It's bollocks. Easy to lie and easy to fake even then.

Good point.

If the gp gets it though you lose that gp at work for 5 days though no?

Exactly this. And I presume everyone would be happy not being able to get an appointment because half the gps in the practice were off sick with Covid as well.

Fucking hell that GP sounds like an idiot, change GP

Maybe it was knowing from outset if it is covid?
If not covid then can look at other causes

There are many things that could excaperate a pre-existing medical condition that many other patients will be coming in with every day.

You go to a doctors when you're ill. To have to prove what illness you do or do not have before going to a doctor to be diagnosed is stupid.