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

Same. Hope you doing ok!

I'm in my 50s too, and my memory is the opposite - we never saw the GP unless we were virtually dying. My best friend with terrible asthma recalls being practically blue before her mum would consider taking her to the doctor's.

If a patient had given me those symptoms I would have flagged it straight to a GP whether the patient was added to that day's consultation list and even if there wasn't one available immediately I'd still tell a GP. I think after being in the job 16 years and having common sense I know when something like that is potentially serious. That is why patients need to tell Receptionist a bit more than "it's private".

However I don't think there are many Receptionists that stay in the job long because of the abuse, shit working conditions for low pay and as a result there is inexperience and disinterest in the job and then they leave and the next inexperienced Receptionist is hired.

Why would you tell someone to go to an optician with a sticky eye?

@Kendodd I take your point, so the fact that NHS medics also operate in the private sector should be curbed then.

In Ireland, the NHS equivalents now have a contract that forbids working in the private system. However, they have been well compensated for the lack of private income in their public only contracts. Public only consultant salaries range between €230k and 280K with other allowances on top.

The problem everywhere I think, is holding on to qualified doctors, and adequate staffing. Lots to ponder, lots to do, lots that can be done. If the will and the investment is forthcoming.

Infected In growing nails could require antibiotics and the nail being removed

and a broken toe isn’t life threatening. It would efinitley not be urgent. I know because I had one (not just broken but split completely in half!) and yes I had to wear trainers- I had to work and it was winter!

the point is a parent saying their child had an achey toe doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything serious. No one sits with their child in A&e for 8 hours unless they really feel it needs looking at!

You'd be surprised. BIL works in A&E and, honestly, he has the patience of a saint to deal with some of this stuff. He never gives details, obviously, but he'll tell us how someone came in with a nosebleed and refused to leave or how someone came in claiming they had a heart attack, but really it was indigestion.

Thinking about conditions like endometriosis where the average sufferer has been seeking help for 8-9 years before getting diagnosis. So all those appointments by these dismissive GPs would fall into this GPs category of not needing an appointment.

similar is true for MS.

I had an aunt die from ovarian cancer after months of GP dismissal. She had a palpatable lump before they would refer for tests by which time it was too late. A friends mother died of a brain tumour after the gp sent her away multiple times telling her it’s just part of aging (she was in her 30s). Another friend wasted many appointments over thyroid issues before she was given the blood test she needed for diagnosis.

stories like this should be the exception but I know too many (women) personally who have been told they are wasting GP time when they have genuinely needed medical care. So I don’t believe this stat to be true I believe it to be the opinion of a GP who is likely the problem.

i do of course know one or two people who are down the gp when they should be going to the pharmacist but they honestly believe they need a GP not being medically trained. the damage done by using stats like this to put people off seeing the GP is too high.

Nose bleed:

Go to A&E if:
You have a nosebleed and:
your nosebleed lasts longer than 10 to 15 minutes
the bleeding seems excessive
you're swallowing a large amount of blood that makes you vomit
the bleeding started after a blow to your head
you're feeling weak or dizzy
you're having difficulty breathing

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nosebleed/

I think when your nose bleed finished six hours ago, still demanding to see a doctor is a bit excessive. 😂

Perhaps try not to quote advice that isn't relevant to make yourself look good.

The reason the NHS is close to collapse is because of drama llamas who waste valuable time and money.

If you had ever worked in pharmacy you would be astounded at the volume of over-ordered and wasted medication returned to pharmacies. Not every patient stockpiles but there are lots who do, particularly as the NHS does not charge most people for medication, there is an argument that a small, nominal charge per item would make people think more.
There have been very large studies done which show that, overall, wastage is lower with 28 day supplies than with larger quantities

someone came in claiming they had a heart attack, but really it was indigestion

I hope they were examined properly before your BIL dismissed them. Women often have their symptoms dismissed because a heart attack can present differently in them, including:

• Anxiety
• Shortness of breath
• Upset stomach
• Pain in the shoulder, back or arm
• Unusual tiredness and weakness”

Just thought of another one. My dd had meningitis. Our GP at the time had a system you had to have a phone appointment before they gave you a face to face. On the phone I said she’s got a fever lethargic I can hardly wake her and her nappy is dry- I was told had to be at least 24 hours of a dry nappy before I should worry. I waited a couple more hours and took her to A&E and was in the waiting room when the rash came up and within minutes she’s getting injections and her heart monitored as her pulse was weird and concerning. She would have died if I had listened to that gp

Says someone dismissing symptoms for which people are advise by the NHS to go to A&E. Did anyone actually speak to them before telling them to go home to ensure they had not experienced these symptoms? Or perhaps they were having frequent nose bleeds dismissed by their GP? My DC had to be seen and treated by ENT for nosebleeds.

Completely agree. If you are worried about something, you should go to the doctor. We are NOT doctors. THAT' S WHY WE GO TO THE DOCTOR'S.

They were examined by multiple people. And no evidence of anything wrong was found. Then got aggressive and violent and demanded to see a consultant - and then tried to punch him in the face.

People are drama llamas, like I say. They don’t like being told they don’t need to be there, and they get angry or rude or in some cases even refuse to leave.

Are you or any of your relatives doctors by any chance? Or are you just an arm-chair expert? Possibly a Russia-Ukraine and middle-east expert as well? 😬Quoting NHS guidelines does not make you an expert anymore than me speaking Russian would make me a Russian!

Yeah my great aunt was sent home by the GP three times and then died 2 days later from diverticulitis. My FIL was sent away several times with what later turned out to be cancer.

You are rather embellishing your story now.

Why should I not quote the information the NHS tells patients? It is the most relevant information as it is what patients use to decide if they need to go to A&E, and what the NHS has decided are appropriate situations in which they should be told to attend. If patients follow that advice then it is the NHS that are at fault. If the patient misunderstands patient messaging then it is still the nhs who are at fault.

I would want to know more detail ... what does that GP consider to be an inappropriate reason for seeing a GP?
And I would question how appropriate it was for the GP even to be saying this to you ... basically criticising other patients.
I am not sure I would want this person as my GP .... someone who thinks simplistically and criticises his patients in front of you.

You really do just hate the NHS don’t you?

If people are unable to think for themselves and follow guidance blindly without any critical thinking…well words fail me.

I had a head ache and a dizzy spell the other day. Also a sign of a heart attack as listed on guidelines. Actually, I just hadn’t drunk enough water. But by your logic I should have been straight down to A&E claiming heart failure!

That being said, if mums have nothing better to do than spend 8hrs in A&E with a child who they claim has a ‘painful toe’ that’s their choice. 😅We’ll have to agree to disagree about how serious that ‘painful toe’ must have been 😂

I think If pharmacists were like they are abroad Drs would be much better !
I got bitten by a mosquito and it got infected (abroad) I showed the lady in chemist and she sold me a cream that contained steroid and antibiotics told me how to use it ! And it worked like magic ! If I was in the u.k I wouldn’t be able to get this over the counter and this is where a lot of problems
arise ! I had a UTI when to UK chemist they can’t help me because I didn’t have all the symptoms but at the grand old age of 50 I know when I have a UTI so I had to go to the Drs and get prescription for antibiotics it’s absolutely insane !!

So many of them seem to have the attitude that you're wasting their time from the moment you step foot in the consulting room.

People don’t realise what a great resource their local pharmacy is, I would never book a GP appointment for a small issue without speaking to a pharmacist first.

This thread reminds me of my trainee GP ex who told me ovarian cysts are never painful and that autism and adhd didn't exist and was just spoilt kids. 😳Mind you he did fail his exam numerous times. Don’t know if he ever made it actually graduating as one but he did work in a GP surgery.

When I called him out on it, he had a chip on his shoulder like many GPs do that an uneducated person dare question their intelligence.

Both things you mention can and are treated at a pharmacy.