GP's please why are you not back to seeing us face to face

[whenwillthemadnessend]

Just that really ?

Please can any GP's explain the reasoning

If dentists physios and accident and emergency doctors can see people why can't GP doctors?

No chance of getting through on the phone here in Brent, NW London - “you are 8th in the queue” went on for over an hour. We don’t even try now, if elderly mum or kids are sick it’s straight to A&E.

Yes I understand that LemonRoses. However why can't more of the admin be done when patients aren't available so the GPS are available more often when the patients need to see them. Before 8.45 and after 6.30 because they go to work - often 90 minutes away from their home. And why when GPs are supposed to be so clever are their services so inefficiently run. We are supposed to respect their precious time but nothing, absolutely nothing is done to respect the time of the patients which is very often every bit as important as theirs.

lemon I still believe they could find time to see an unwell teenager that a team of professionals have said needs an urgent physical check. Are things that bad that they don't have spare appointments for 12 days to see a child that is really struggling.

Indeed @LemonRoses, and as small business men and women they get paid extra for those services I believe. Recalls taking an insurance form in when we cancelled a holiday because dd had such a serious accident she was in a wheelchair. Form was pencilled in with sticky tabs on the pages the Dr had to complete. It was £30 payable to the Dr, let's say Dr Susan Smith, for 6 minutes of her time (£300ph equiv). I was asked to collect it after 4pm. Got dd into her wheelchair, transferred her to car, put chair in boot, drove to drs, parked 100m away, put up dd's wheelchair, got dd into it. Arrived at Drs. Response.

"She hasn't done it yet, come back after 6". I politely pointed out it was a little difficult at present pointing at the 9 year old in a cast from toes to thigh and asked if they would mind awfully popping it in the post. "The Drs don't let us waste stamps when people can collect things". With all due respect to every supposedly overworked Dr, if you are going to charge me £30 for six minutes work, and then mess me about by not having it ready when you said it would be ready, you can spend, what was then I think, 21p out of the cheque I have just written to you personally on a **ing stamp! Much of it in any other profession would be called taking the piss and the standards of service would very often result in dismissal.

As I have said services have I.proved since my surgery went on-line largely because I can deal with things in writing by email or through the portal which cuts out having to deal with some of the exceptionally rude staff on the end of a phone or at the surgery.

We have a home in France. On the rare occasion we have needed to use a Dr in France, it is completely incomparable. The NHS does me no favours - I pay through the nose for it - and too often the care and the conduct falls short of where it should. I do not for a minute think it's all about resources. It was exactly the same 40 years ago. Not when I was a child however in the home counties, probably because Drs in the 60s remembered having to rely on patients to pay them and hadn't forgotten their manners

@RosesAndHellebores

Yes I understand that LemonRoses. However why can't more of the admin be done when patients aren't available so the GPS are available more often when the patients need to see them. Before 8.45 and after 6.30 because they go to work - often 90 minutes away from their home. And why when GPs are supposed to be so clever are their services so inefficiently run. We are supposed to respect their precious time but nothing, absolutely nothing is done to respect the time of the patients which is very often every bit as important as theirs.

I think expecting GPs who also often live an hour or so from work (to avoid impromptu consultations in the Co-Op or pub) and who also have families to arrive before 7:30 so you aren’t inconvenienced is unreasonable. Go to work late. Those GPs have to stay late to sort patients out. You are expecting blood to be obtainable from a stone.

Those GPs, having been at work since 7:30, often without lunch, might just want to go home after they’ve done that days admin. That admin might take an hour or more after the last patient is seen at 18:00.

On arrival, there is setting up, admin and emails to do before they can start seeing patients. Usually to determine how best to manage their work efficiently. They need to see who their student has booked in, whether the nurse can do an ECG if Mr Bloggs needs one, whether there is anyone who can pop out to Sunset Nursing Home to write up some end of life care drugs.

@Punxsutawney

lemon I still believe they could find time to see an unwell teenager that a team of professionals have said needs an urgent physical check. Are things that bad that they don't have spare appointments for 12 days to see a child that is really struggling.

Yes, in some areas they are running at 40% vacancy rates.

The blame cannot be dumped on GPs. It sits with Brexit voters, the government for austerity, the members of the public who waste the valuable resources and time and the government again for being very flush with words and promises but far less committed to actually delivering on those promises.
You wouldn’t expect to make a pint of custard with half a pint of milk, nor to give more people a bigger serving in more flavours from that half pint.

@LemonRoses I said see patients before 8.45. I leave for work usually at 7.15 and get home at about 8pm. If I have to see a Dr at 8.45 or 6.30pm - I have already curtailed my working day.

Why can't they better organise themselves around their patients? Why can't they see patients between 6pm and 7.30pm and do 1.5 hours of admin during the afternoon.

You write as though you think only Dr's ever miss lunch.

Funny you think all Dr's do an hour of admin before 8.45. I've arrived at 8.40 before now and watched the Dr drive in flustered at 8.55 and heard her telling reception she had to go home for little Johnnie's forgotten homework when there's a big sign on the desk telling patients they will not be seen if they are late

Always someone else's fault then LemonRoses and I expect in your world of unicorns and fairy dust, a Dr has never been rude, misdiagnosed, or messed a patient about? It must be absolutely marvellous.

I think some people are being ridiculous. The bank isn’t open till 8pm for my convenience. Or the post office. Or the Council offices or whichever other service you want. Where do you draw the line? There’s always out of hours and emergency services for things that can’t wait.

Oh and the point about the Drs wanting to live an hour away so they don't bump into patients is almost giggleworthy. Every GP I've ever had has lived locally and it has never been a problem.

Lemon can they no longer see a child face to face that needs an urgent GP appointment? Children with suspected eating disorders can get ill quite quickly. Is it not a risk to leave a child that could be really unwell for 12 days?

@LemonRoses

The blame cannot be dumped on GPs. It sits with Brexit voters, the government for austerity, the members of the public who waste the valuable resources and time and the government again for being very flush with words and promises but far less committed to actually delivering on those promises. You wouldn’t expect to make a pint of custard with half a pint of milk, nor to give more people a bigger serving in more flavours from that half pint.

What a load of crap, I went private long before Brexit due to the terrible NHS service

My bank is @LadyWithLapdog - until 7pm and Saturdays and Sundays (Metro Bank). In any event it isn't a realistic comparator as I can go to a network of branches or any old post office and there is usually one near where I work - it would be great if one could be dual registered with a GP near ones workplace and near one's home.

In any event most of my banking is now done on-line and I have said I prefer that as much as possible with the Dr too.

@RosesAndHellebores I’m behind. My teenage kids are all online banking. OTOH I feel ok with GP appointments by phone or video. Maybe that wasn’t the best example but you get the idea. I agree about sharing notes so you can see other GPs but it wouldn’t help for things that need continuity of care or referral to other local services.

Agrees with the consultation first on the phone. My second son and I see the Dr quite often re health.

When it comes to our mental health we see the same Dr so usually have to wait even pre pandemic.

Consultation, appointment given if you need to see them in the surgery. The best part is I don't have to sit on a phone at 8-am in the morning waiting to get through for very long time.

I can go online now, on my surgery, fill in a form saying appointment with which Dr what's it about if its usual check in and we get a message later that day telling us when our Dr will phone us.

They see patients in the surgery in an emergency however its all done via phone, Internet with Covid19 first and that's fine by me.

They really really don’t want to do they.

GP's have always been private businesses from 1947 when the NHS was formed, they didn't want to take part, but were forced to do so. The government had to vertualy force them to take on NHS patients.
They are now paid a huge amount by the NHS but clearly many don't feel any sense of responsibility to their patients or to the NHS. I think it is still down to the old adage "how do you tell the difference between God and a doctor? God doesn't think he is a doctor"

What I would like to know is when can we get our routine blood tests? For a whole year my partner has not had cholesterol bloods done and I haven't had any thyroid blood tests. Yet, I could have an emergency dental extraction. I haven't seen my optician in over a year. When are all these check ups going to resume? Does anyone know?

@Gothichouse40

What I would like to know is when can we get our routine blood tests? For a whole year my partner has not had cholesterol bloods done and I haven't had any thyroid blood tests. Yet, I could have an emergency dental extraction. I haven't seen my optician in over a year. When are all these check ups going to resume? Does anyone know?

We only stopped them for approximately 6 weeks last year from mid March until mid May 2020. We're doing all routine bloods etc. Have you tried asking your practice?

@osprey24

GP's have always been private businesses from 1947 when the NHS was formed, they didn't want to take part, but were forced to do so. The government had to vertualy force them to take on NHS patients. They are now paid a huge amount by the NHS but clearly many don't feel any sense of responsibility to their patients or to the NHS. I think it is still down to the old adage "how do you tell the difference between God and a doctor? God doesn't think he is a doctor"

Yeah, huge amounts £155 per patient per year. I have some patients who consult 3 times a week...

Expulso, our practice seems to have left everything now to the receptionists. Nowhere on their website is there any info regarding resuming tests. However, I may phone and ask. Im in Scotland as far as I know no routine testing for anything is being done. Thank you anyway.

@LemonRoses

The blame cannot be dumped on GPs. It sits with Brexit voters, the government for austerity, the members of the public who waste the valuable resources and time and the government again for being very flush with words and promises but far less committed to actually delivering on those promises. You wouldn’t expect to make a pint of custard with half a pint of milk, nor to give more people a bigger serving in more flavours from that half pint.

What a load of crap. GP services were crap long before Brexit. They were crap during Blair's years of trebling spending on the NHS. They were crap before and after Blairs new GP contract which increased GP pay for doing less work.

@Gothichouse40

What I would like to know is when can we get our routine blood tests? For a whole year my partner has not had cholesterol bloods done and I haven't had any thyroid blood tests. Yet, I could have an emergency dental extraction. I haven't seen my optician in over a year. When are all these check ups going to resume? Does anyone know?

Similar here, I had to lie and say I feel unwell and getting high blood sugar readings on my home blood testing machine before they deemed to give me a blood test appt for my HBA1C (diabetic blood test) - 3 weeks away! I should have them every six months - last was Summer 2019! I had one booked end March 20, but they cancelled it "due to covid" and not let me book one since. Not to mention no diabetic foot check, no diabetic eye test. Funny how the diabetic nurse still did a telephone review - without a blood test - but they don't get the extra funding for chronic conditions if they don't "manage" them via their tick box questionnaires!! Her only real "advice" was to phone 111 or 999 if I ever felt very poorly! So basically passing the buck but still happy to take the extra money for chronic illness management!

What a load of crap. GP services were crap long before Brexit. They were crap during Blair's years of trebling spending on the NHS. They were crap before and after Blairs new GP contract which increased GP pay for doing less work.

This. And now they’re worse than ever! I would like to see the government force them to offer face to face appointments again. As a new and not very confident mum it’s been a nightmare for me doing appointments over the phone, trying to describe my baby’s symptoms and then being prescribed something based solely on my description. In one instance this actually resulted in a misdiagnosis for my baby which I later discovered. Why am I having to effectively do their job for them? God knows they get paid enough. I feel no one will see or assess my baby when I have concerns, I feel so alone and it has sent my anxiety through the roof.