My GP has told me that 80% of their appointments don't need a GP appointment.

[Hiptothisjive]

So I get that there are always people that need reassurance but this number shocked me. Basically a lot of people are visiting their GP for reasons they don't need to and taking up a lot of GP time.

It's great some of the prescriptions that can be given via a pharmacy now, but surely there needs to be a re-addressing of when to visit a doctor?

YABU - to expect people to know better than go to their GP when they don't need to
YANBU - people should go to the doctor whenever they want to no matter what the issue

Nail on the head.

Yep. After seeing the amount of parents on here who want to take their child to the gp after only being mildly ill for a few days it doesn't surprise me!

The real issue is that we set up the system to put everything through the GP and new we are slow to readjust. I have to get certain prescriptions filled by a GP (chronic condition that is intermittent) so there should be a process that doesn’t require the GP personally involved. I have had a few infections recently and was able to make cleat to the receptionist that a nurse practitioner (some other name now) could do it, that worked fine.

The reality is that there are lots of deliberate processes that the system in the UK funnels people in the wrong direction. For example the pharmacy restrictions are excessive. There are medications that are over the counter in Europe that we make prescription only. We make limited use of nurses. Getting a referral requires a doctor, when we should be able to request and have a dr review a batch and ask to see someone if they are unsure.

The idea is that a doctor may see from history more than a less qualified person. The reality is that we could have AI review medical histories and then flag to a GP a patient that may need to have their history reviewed. I normally know what my issue is, but the process tries to funnel towards a GP. When I need to see a GP I would rather they weren’t taken up with people like me who would be happy with an alternative.

Inefficiency is built into the system.

So, the medical system in this country is basically only for emergencies now? Not everything is a 999 case. Like I’ve said, I had chronic health issues and they weren’t emergency but needed to be seen, to get me a referral. Are people supposed to wait until they’re on death’s door to be seen?

That bothers me a lot less than when I know I shouldn't need to see a GP but the system defaults to that process.

👏👏👏👏👏

It makes no sense to me to say that 80% of GP appointments are not needed. What can you actually see a GP for?
When I had digestive problems, it was three months before I could see a GP, who immediately referred me to hospital. When I have had cellulitis, I have had to go to Urgent Care or A&E, as no GP appointments and pharmacists will not prescribe for it.

But feeling "a bit off" literally IS the first indicator that something is wrong for nearly all health issues!

I agree with some of the previous comments = 80% of patients ending the appointment without medication or a referral doesn't mean all of those appointments weren't needed.

I have to go to Dr's at least once a year for repeat prescriptions for a) the pill b) excema cream. Both of which I've been taking for 20 years so why can't they just be reissued? Its wasting my time as much as theirs.

My dh was fobbed off by his gp, told to take otc medicine, an and e said the same.

He had stage 4 cancer and died 6 weeks later.

my mum was told similar, told to get gaviscon from the chemist over and over again, told her to change her diet, gp wouldn’t see her until my mum kicked off.

also had stage 4 stomach cancer.

i don’t doubt some people are timewasters but they don’t seem to be catching the people who truly need the gp to take their symptoms seriously

But presumably the mother was worried it was broken or maybe he had an infected nail?

I can’t fathom why monthly prescriptions are only issued in the UK in some cases. In Ireland prescriptions can be issued up to 12 months in advance for repeat ones so say for eg the contraceptive pill. They can only be dispensed monthly and most people leave on file in the chemist and then ring or go online every month and order as required. How does it make any sense to tie up a GP every 28 days for this. That’s 12 times a year a GP potentially has to issue a prescription in the UK vs 1 for the same medication for a patient in Ireland. When I read on threads like this about people waiting potentially weeks for an appointment with a GP it suddenly starts to make sense

Under resourced system, coupled with breakdown in community support

I disagree on this.

I do wish people had more understanding of viral infections and the fact that there's very little anyone can do except wait.

But I also have taken my child to the walk in for things like a badly bumped head that I was 99% sure was ok (impressive black eye though) but wanted a professional opinion - I may be overly paranoid but also wanted to get it checked to cover my back incase he did later develop concussion symptoms and I faced questions about why I didn't bring him straight in

I've currently got two moles I want checking but because its not urgent I feel like I'm wasting time as its likely fine - however doctors are trained professionals and a lot of the general public are relatively uneducated about disease so I feel like reassurance and peace of mind is actually part of their role.

My brothers pneumonia was missed by GPs when he was young and dismissed as just flu or something- it was only because my mum was a nurse and insisted on a chest xray that it was picked up.

I’ll defend him and say I think he’s a good doctor. He’s very happy to refer people on and critical of others who don’t, he always says if he’s not 100% sure of something then someone deserves to be seen someone who has expertise in that area.
In the practice he was in there were a lot of patients who wanted a weekly standing appointment so they had it just in case they felt unwell. So they could pop in on their shopping day for a chat.
I know he’s been in other practices where it’s been different so it’s not all surgeries. He’s was in one in a wealthy area which he said had the fittest patients he’d ever seen, said it was a bit dull.

My SIL goes to the doctor every time she has a cold to ask for antibiotics as they make her feel better? Her own parents were GPs so you’d think she’d know better than that (she doesn’t get them). She would also take her children with colds and splinters in their fingers etc to ‘just check’

I used to be a GP receptionist (I was a nice one!) and yes lots of people come to the Dr when 2 paracetamol and a good nights sleep would have sorted their issue. But you see it on here all the time ‘should I go to A&E?’ And loads of people saying yes just to be sure.

But the NHS is massively inefficient and could help itself with a good dose of common sense, and removal of not needed appointments (like pp have described).

@Thisistyresome

Inefficiency is built into the system.

As imposed by the BMA who have always wanted the GPs to be "front and central" so that they're indispensible. The same BMA who at one time voted against more GPs and against more medical schools as they wanted to keep a shortage so as not to dilute "remuneration" etc.

You do realise nearly all serious illnesses start off being mild?

If we could do more self-referrals and give pharmacies a bit more responsibility, things would improve massively.

Infected nails such as parachonea (as I know very well) can be dealt with by a pharmacist.

A broken toe and the child would have been seen before eight hours, I am sure. Plus the child managed to have two shoes on - I don't know many people who can have a shoe on with a broken toe!😁

But either way, I think after eight hours, if they were serious they'd have been dealt with.

It’s a difficult one. I can honestly say that I’ve never ‘bothered’ my GP with anything trivial. It’s always been something that they’ve agreed needs investigation or attention. I think I’m fairly well-informed about symptoms and really, we all should be. It’s your duty as a citizen to inform yourself and not waste resources if at all possible.

Years ago I remember getting told off by a colleague who was shocked that I didn’t go to the doctor with a cold. He always did, he said, as if it was something to be proud of!

I assume most people would only go for something important or which was worrying- not just something they need Lemsip for? And it’s different with small children who can’t communicate their precise symptoms.

But why is the onus on us as citizens to treat the NHS as a finite resource rather than a service? It should be on the government to fund it properly.

My dad calls the GP when he gets a cold because it will always go to his chest and give him a chest infection. Better to nip it in the bud than to suffer and risk being really poorly. What seems trivial to some of us could be awful for someone else.

I totally agree with you @CreativeGreen . When I was a teacher those blooming children they were nothing but a nuisance 😂.

Doesn’t surprise me. You see it on here all the time - people asking whether they should see a GP for the most trivial issues. I think there should be a charge for visiting a GP.

I know plenty of people who go to the GP/hospital just to fill their day. My mum has been doing it for decades.

Problem is, people aren't experts so they don't know what's wrong with them. Example, I had pneumonia years ago, I left it and left it, eventually went to GP and was told off for not coming sooner. The next year I had a cough and symptoms that seemed exactly the same to me so I went to a walk in centre. I got told off there for time wasting as it was just a cough not pneumonia.
Another time I had a black mark under my nail after suffering no known injury and it looked like a type of skin cancer. Sent pictures to GP who fast tracked refered me to skin cancer specialist. It wasn't cancer. So was that whole thing a waste of time? Maybe it was?
Actually, I think the skin cancer thing is an absolute ideal opportunity to make use of AI. If I could have uploaded the picture straight into some NHS AI reader it almost certainly could have told me immediately if I needed a doctor appointment or not. Not a minute of human time would have been wasted.

You know you can buy hydrocortisone and eumovate over the counter?