Any GPs about? Can you help me understand please?

[ChittyChittyBoomBoom]

This is NOT a GP bashing thread. I just want to understand.

My GP practice are still not seeing patients for face to face appointments. Why is this?

So yes we are working and we are working harder than ever, we might not being seeing every person face to face but we simply would not have he time to help everyone if we did .
And if we get covid and that service shuts then there will be 7000 patients without a GP service while we all recover so no, we cannot afford to throw open our doors to everyone.

I get this, which is why I am grumbling online about things being difficult, and having slightly worse outcome for me, rather than making a complaint to the GP surgery.

My GP did call back on a follow-up last week, so late that the arrangements I'd made to receive the call in private (bare in mind that part of the problem is that DH is behaving erratically around DS, so childcare is non trivial) had ended so he knows, because our conversation basically went "is this Mines" "yes" "can you discuss privately" "no" "I'll call you same time next week". No "can you come into the surgery" for which I could invent a different problem that requires physical check.

NHS England has advised patients should be seen face to face now if necessary
www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/nhs-urges-gps-to-see-patients-in-person-qt0m6cc3d

In my area they are definitely seeing patients if needed in clinics but only If clinically indicated usually after phone/video calls. They physically cant see as many patients as need to clean down between each patient, change ppe and limit the amount of people in the surgery at once. I had a number of appointments when we were in full lockdown but was seen physically twice as needed examining.

I can’t help but wonder if this thread is on the back of letters received by GP practices today
They are seeing patients under guidelines to limit the spread of Covid as I understand it most practices are seeing 1/3 patients face to face where necessary. This doesn’t include patients being seen in HOT clinics.
I have 2 close friends who are GPs both have found working the new arrangements very hard and would rather go back to the style of medicine they practiced before but guidelines and common sense mean that isn’t possible right now.

And this is laregly due to the lack of proper guidance by the government, (as with everything) meaning individual practices / trusts make their own rules and policies

It's not lack as such, it's just the latest iteration of the postcode lottery.

Trusts have the freedom to set their own terms, on this and on many other things, and it is in the name of responsiveness to local demand.

No matter how unpopular the policy, it's something that all governments have kept for decades now

Sweetnhappy1 my son developed the infection in his finger just before the VE Day weekend, so May. My ear infection was last week ☹️.