What are GPs actually doing during all this time ?

[VivaMiltonKeynes]

We were discussing this . In our surgery they have e consult online and you get a call back . On the couple of times this has occurred it's not even a doctor at our practice - it sounds like a service they use and it is really appalling . They don't even seem to have read your notes . The nurses are run off their feet doing the usual blood tests, flu shots etc but what are all the GPs doing ?

@OpheliasCrayon I'm happy you're getting to see your GP every week. Doesn't change the fact that my surgery - and many others on here - are not offering the same. I hardly ever use the GP so would like to be not made to feel a nuisance when I do. It seems to be a massively mixed picture.

It depends how lucky you are

I had to call 111 for mum during lockdown and the paramedics expressed concern that the local GPs weren’t doing anything.

I live somewhere else and the local pharmacy told me the same thing.

I have a friend who is a GP and she said the union were bombarding them with reasons not to see patients face to face but she carried on doing that.

They have been amazing here. Still seeing people face to face when needed, carry on with immunisations etc, triaging over the phone if possible which is actually much more convenient in many cases, processing prescriptions and doing medicine reviews when needed, doing home visits to those who need them. No complaints at all, have had to see them a few times for myself and DS, and been great.

Oh here we go. If it's not teacher bashing, it's GP bashing. The Daily Mail has done a great job on the people of this country 🙄

Really happy with the service received from mine. Phone call and then an in person appointment the following day when she concluded that she'd need to examine me in person. Very easy and the surgery felt safe.

My dm’s gp has been really good. Two phone consultations v. quickly.
My df who is 90 and had two admissions to hospital last year with chest infections didn’t get a shielding letter from his gp until 3 months into the first lockdown.

I have no idea what they are doing, but they are not seeing patients in person or online at my practice.

I ended up going to A&E because I couldn't see a GP. It is a huge city hospital, where you'd normally wait about 6 hours. I went straight in, on a Saturday night, saw two doctors (who were glad to have a patient, because there was nothing else to do), was treated for something that a GP could have treated me for very straightforwardly, and went home again. It all took about an hour.

@AnnaFiveTowns

Oh here we go. If it's not teacher bashing, it's GP bashing. The Daily Mail has done a great job on the people of this country 🙄

Most people on here have said they are happy with the service they're getting - but it's another massively unequal, mixed picture, like schools. My GP surgery is now a member of a very large group of surgeries with more than 50,000 patients and the service they are providing is crap, it has actually been in the local press over the number of complaints. It's not GP bashing to point out that some - not all - are not offering an adequate service.

Everything at our surgery seems to get passed on to the nurse, she's run ragged tbh

Ours are triaging & calling patients, seeing patients face to face where necessary, going on home visits to housebound patients and also putting them selves at risk & deciding-after a full set of OBS- if the breathless patient with a temp, cough and reduced O2 reading needs hospitalisation.

Been working hard as usual but in a much more efficient manner. I really hope they continue working like this when the pandemic is over.

My surgery have been great. You can get a telephone appointment the same day or book one in advance. I was invited in for a face-to-face appointment the same day during my last telephone appointment. No complaints here - I'm in the SW.

Similar to some, I've had to consult my GP for DS. Most of it done over the phone (which is fine) but face-to-face when needed. She's referred him to hospital and he's had an abdominal ultrasound there and she's subsequently referred him again. I would have preferred video to phone but that's all.

The front office staff do seem to have gone out of their way to be as unwelcoming as possible, as if somehow their risk was much higher than the people who work at Asda (who I may say continue to be mostly friendly and helpful). The hospital staff (who actually do have a significantly higher risk) were much nicer.

I've had to go private for anything other than an online request for repeat prescriptions. On the other hand the local pharmacy has improved beyond recognition.

Mine are working very hard. Dealing with online messages and triaging them, doing telephone consults, covering for sick colleagues. AND lots more flu vaccinations (they had a special drive through day at a local place with a big car park), and they are probably being trained for the new vaccinations - as well as a lot more admin.

I am a GP. I’ve spoken to more patients per day since lockdown than I ever have before. Fewer face to face but literally hundreds more phone/video/email contacts. It is generally considered “safe” to deal with 12 consultations per half day. I’ve been averaging 20+. As well as mentoring my junior doctors, teaching students, clinical admin, sorting out issues relating to the hospital having to cancel everything. Oh and repeat prescriptions, letters from the hospital, results, referrals. And supporting our burned out terrified admin staff who deal with vitriol and abuse on the phone or in person every day. I also work out of hours as a GP in A&E and it’s business as usual (except in PPE and with more terrified patients) there too.

Stop believing the Daily Mail. Very soon as a profession GPs will be so vilified and so disillusioned we will all leave the profession. Having witnessed the after effects of a local GP taking their own life recently as a result of work pressures I’d suggest people remember we are human too

The problem yet again lies with the privatisation so each practice decides what they do hence the inequities. Whilst it is great that surgeries have more say in how they meet their demographics needs this is one of the negative effects. I’m lucky our surgery is very proactive and the GP’s are all young as in 50 and under for the partners.
I hate seeing so many teachers coming on slagging GP’s off. I know teachers are angry, I would be too and I still can’t fathom why you aren’t allowed to wear medical grade masks to teach in but it is not the GP’s fault or the nurses or whoever else you’re pointing this anger at. You’re falling right in the government hands by blaming these people not the actual government itself.

Not much at my surgery. Can’t get an appointment at all for awful skin rash on bottom half of legs. Ended up paying £60 for a private consult on zoom and some cream sent via Rm. disgruntled to say the least

People forget there’s an increased workload from giving support to care homes and patients at end of life, drug shortages, increased numbers of people needing flu vaccine and now covid vaccine. Some of those things are taking a considerable amount of extra time. So GPs are still working but that doesn’t negate the experience of some people not being able to access care. Most of the time goes on a small amount of patients

Our GP surgery has nurses doing all the patient facing clinics and GPs doing phonecalls. Not sure why nurses are deemed more dispensable and less worthy of protections than GPs but there we go...
Our daughter came up in a serious looking rash (luckily we have half a brain cell and knew to do the glass test etc.) and was v under the weather. We phoned surgery and they promised us a triage call back. 5 hours later I chased them again for the receptionist to say: oh god sorry I will go and give them a kick now- they're only in the office next to me I've no idea why they haven't run back yet.
To say I was unimpressed was an understatement- our child is 2 so this could have been v serious.
The GP called back then within 5 mins- and when we queried chickenpox she just said if there's no high fever then no, just a viral rash and she is fit to go to nursery.
Well that was BS- it was chickenpox and nursery wouldn't touch her with a barge pole for 10 days.
When teachers are in stuffy classrooms with over 30 children every hour with no PPE I think it's disgusting GPs aren't seeing people face to face as they were pre-pandemic. They could be distanced, PPE-d up and wouldn't see anywhere near the number of children a secondary teacher would see in a day.

Mine are either recovering from covid, doing phine consults, loads of paperwork, flu clinics, lots of information being published and, I hope, lots of tea being drunk

They seem to be flat out!

The only difference we’ve had is most appointments are made over the phone or e consult and take place via video call. However, if the GP needs to physically see you then you are given an appointment in the surgery. There hasn’t been any delay in speaking to a GP for us at our surgery, but ours was very good even before covid. No complaints now either.

@sleeplessinderbyshire can I ask why majority of surgeries are doing very limited face to face when other sectors back up and running as normal... i.e the education sector?
You mention you work in an A&E department sometimes too which is all face to face, so why can't you work as normal face to face at your surgery/practice?

I work in admin in a busy inner city GP surgery, there are at least ten GPS, three nurses and receptionists. All of us are rushed off our feet, I don’t know our doctors remain so calm with all the pressures. I deal with the referrals and although early in in the pandemic there were no referrals now the opposite is true. I work three days and never take a lunch break it is so busy. For a while this is just a different way of working for the doctors. I can take my own blood pressure reliably and send in my results, I don’t need to see a doctor, similarly other conditions don’t, as long as you speak to a doctor. If they need to see a patient in person they will.

Also remember the admin staff who help triage the phone calls are only following GP instructions. Many of our admin staff are exhausted and stressed having to deal with patient’s abuse. In addition there has been lots of sickness and self isolation because of COVID - health care staff are human and get ill too!