Why can we still not see GP's?

[ssd]

I had to send pictures on WhatsApp to my gp this morning after a telephone call appointment. Why are GPs still not seeing patients? How on earth do old folk manage?

Here they are seeing people if there is a clinical need. FIL is getting face to face as he is elderly. My baby will also be seen if necessary but I had telephone only.

Just to add, I have health anxiety. I now have to wait for the gp to contact me later once she's seen the pictures. This feels like a nightmare for me, I asked to see her in person but she said they are not really seeing people just now. How much serious illnesses will be missed doing it this way?

Dd had a phone appt this morning. GP decided she needed seeing so told her to go in.

Ours are seeing people in person. I was offered a face to face appointment in the middle of lockdown too.

OP do you think perhaps you just don’t need a face to face appt?

They are seeing people if there’s a clinical need, but surely you can understand that going back to the days of packed waiting rooms and no time to completely clean clinical areas between patients isn’t wise during a pandemic.

Yes you have to wait for the GP to get back to you, but most GPs here are currently dealing with patients on a same day basis, because demand is down, rather than patients having to wait days or weeks for non-urgent problems. So you may actually be waiting less than if they were seeing everyone face to face.

Our GPs had been doing mostly phone appointments before the pandemic.

I think it entirely depends on the situation. DP spoke to his GP recently about going on anti depressants. there was no need for him to physically go in. maybe your GP will want you to go in if they feel they need to see the "problem" first hand.

They're triaging over the phone - they'll see you face to face if there's a clinical need. I think your health anxiety is likely clouding your judgement here.

Because the don't want a waiting room full of people coughing and spluttering and spreading germs. Imagine what it will be like in the autumn/winter when everyone has coughs and colds.

My GP said telephone appointments are going to continue for a long time to come. He said shops will probably return to normal before they do!

They are seeing people with need. My mum had a phone appointment, sent a picture (well... I did...) and then they said they would see her

It's a triage service essentially. I hope it stays this way tbh. A lot of issues can be dealt with quite easily like this and it's means the doctors can deal with more patients in a day.

We live somewhere, where there is no Corona and can see a GP if we insist. But the surgery is really pushing phone appointments, I think this is the way they want to be going forward. I hate this and really struggle horribly on the phone, just find it difficult to say what I want to say, can't judge when they've finished speaking, can't get my point across and no doubt seem very inarticulate and nervous. I was told I sounded anxious last time, and I'm not at all in real life, it's the phone all that makes me anxious!

Our surgery won't even accept paper - an elderly friend asked DH to hand an envelope in this morning ahead of a telephone consultation she has with the Dr later today. When he went in, the receptionist said they're not accepting paper, and questioned him on what was in it - he didn't know, because it was private and confidential. Yet when they messed my prescription up the other week, and only half of it made it to the pharmacy, they wanted me to go in and pick up the paper script and refused to send it electronically.

@ssd

I had to send pictures on WhatsApp to my gp this morning after a telephone call appointment. Why are GPs still not seeing patients? How on earth do old folk manage?

They are, I saw my GP last week after a telephone call appointment. It all depends on what it is and if they can do it with photos or not, the problem I had couldn't be done over the phone or with photos and so I was asked to go to the surgery. They have a strict system - just two chairs in the waiting room and a one way system so you go in the front door and out the back door. All the GPs were wearing scrubs and you can't get in without using the intercom and antibac at least three times.

I have a 3 year old who has needed to see a gp for 12 days now. We have called the nurse twice, two emails, one 111 call and one gp call. Still no hope. Next step we will be calling the hospital

I've been trying to get medical advice for my child since the weekend - GP surgery won't even let me send a photo of a very worrying rash on her arm (possibility it's a bullseye one, or a real possibility it's cellulitis) - they say go to the pharmacy... go to pharmacy and they say I need to see the GP.

Would be quite happy with a "yep continue as you are" comment - but it's a 20cm wide very marked reaction full of heat and redness around an insect bite - and I'm bloody concerned.

If I can't get joy from the surgery at some point today - I'm going to end up having to take her to A+E at this rate.

As others have said, they are, it's just that they are triaging all the cases so that those that don't need to be seen in person are done by phone.

I think this will be one of the hidden benefits of this pandemic. The NHS has been rejecting consultation by video call for decades and suddenly, hey, it's possible, and even GOOD - no more waiting around germy waiting rooms and wasting time travelling to and from appointments.

Actually I think this system is perfect, ESPECIALLY if you have health anxiety: you don’t need to go to the surgery/see a doctor (both possibly slightly risky given the pandemic) unless absolutely necessary. I think they will perfectly well be able to advise and diagnose on many things over the phone/by email/looking at pictures but if they can’t and they think there is need for it, they’ll see you. Are you anxious you’re not going to get the reassurance you need by not actually seeing someone? But think of all the germs you’re ALSO not going to expose yourself to!

Yes, phone triaging first, then in person if need be. I think it’s here to stay. Some hospital phone consultations have been ridiculous, though. My DP has had melanoma twice. It was a phone appointment checkover. They are meant to check over with their magnifying tools normally.

agree with PP it actually sounds better for someone with health anxiety, you're avoiding that worry of being in a potentially risky environment. If they can manage it over the phone or with photos that's great.

Friend is a nurse at a GP surgery and told me most of the GPS are refusing to come in for face to face as too risky.

But it's fine for the nurses to take the same - and probably worse - risks.

Going forward, if they can diagnose something effectively with WhatsApp, I'd take that any day over the arse of going in, having to get supply cover for half the day for my job and sitting around in the waiting room. It sounds much more sensible to see only people who need it face to face, and the majority of small ailments maybe don't?

I personally think the whole save the NHS has gone too far at the expense of our health. My friends surgery wouldn’t even see her 6 day old after the MW told her to get an appointment. I know 4 GPS who have worked about 3 -6 weeks each during this pandemic... I’m not exaggerating. One went off with stress and is currently in Barcelona whilst off with stress 🙄! It’s ridiculous and dangerous

One thing that concerns me about telephone appointments - how does the dr.know they are talking to the patient and not someone pretending to be the patient?

@daisypond

Yes, phone triaging first, then in person if need be. I think it’s here to stay. Some hospital phone consultations have been ridiculous, though. My DP has had melanoma twice. It was a phone appointment checkover. They are meant to check over with their magnifying tools normally.

Yep. All of my appointments have been over the phone with drs asking me to describe ridiculous things - how swollen is the joint? Well, swollen. How do you ascertain how swollen it is? Very, a bit, a lot?

A chest physician asking me about my breathing - am I breathing from my diaphragm or my chest?