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?

The numbers of GP’s leaving is increasing so NHS England’s international GP recruitment programme set a target to recruit 2,000 overseas doctors by 2020; as of September 2019 only 140 doctors have been brought in through this programme.

I think all NHS GP surgeries should managed directly rather than partnered businesses. Whilst some Practices are amazing, others treat patients with contempt and seem as if they don’t want to ever actually see people. I say this as a manager /health professional.

*I've always wondered how come it's supposed to be so risky for a GP to see one person at a time,

Because the people they are seeing are ill.*

With what? What are they ill with that presents a risk to the GP?

@Barbie222

Surely by June doctors and dentists will be able to operate without restrictions. My children and myself haven't been able to have a dental check up since Dec 2019, my dentist has begun working only one day a week, but apparently no other dentist in the practice can possibly take me on. That's really disappointing. But my experience of phone consultations at the doctor has been really good.

Yep, if pubs/restaurants/holidays etc happen in Summer, then the NHS needs to be back operating as normal and making a start on their waiting lists. There's no excuse.

Same with unis in Autumn - need to be back to normal with lectures, face to face tutorials etc. Again, no excuse if they don't.

Enough is enough. They can't hide at home forever.

[quote Frezia]@EachDubh I was told by a consultant at 111 that my GP really should see me in person and that he'll personally call them to make an appointment for me ASAP, "they'll call you to confirm", he said. Waited for the call for a few hours, when I called them they said "no need to see you, just pick up the prescription". I appreciate there are many amazing hard working GP surgeries, but ours is really poor, sadly we don't have much of a choice. [/quote]
@Frezia I had a similar experience, a visit to a&e where the doctor told me I needed to see the GP over various very serious health conditions identified.
6 weeks later I have never seen or spoken to the GP. I get texts from her or messages via the receptionist telling me to come in for blood tests or ECGs or ultra sounds or CT scans but she has never spoken to me and if I have a question over the unexplained messages she leaves with the receptionist the response is “I’ll email the doctor and give you a call back tomorrow”.
I would change practice but I’m told the others in my village are worse!!!!!
The thing is I know there are so many other doctors busting a gut and putting their own health at risk to look after patients. Just not my GPs. Sadly they give other doctors a bad name.

@Parker231

The numbers of GP’s leaving is increasing so NHS England’s international GP recruitment programme set a target to recruit 2,000 overseas doctors by 2020; as of September 2019 only 140 doctors have been brought in through this programme.

That’s what people voted for though. It was hugely affected by Brexit, which as we know, was the will of the people.

@Bluesheep8

*I've always wondered how come it's supposed to be so risky for a GP to see one person at a time,

Because the people they are seeing are ill.*

With what? What are they ill with that presents a risk to the GP?

Exactly. My OH has had an opticians appointment for a normal eye test but apparently it's "too dangerous" for the NHS to do my diabetic eye test and too dangerous for my GP surgery to do my yearly diabetic foot check.

I’m a junior doctor working at a GP practice as per of my training. Previously I was working on a hospital ward at the height of this second wave. I’m working as hard if not harder now than when I was on a ward- I was responsible for x number of patients on the ward. The list in GP doesn’t end.

I’m sorry that some of you are experiencing difficulties with your practice, I know some practices can do a lot better. But don’t tar all of us with the same brush. Yesterday the majority of patients I saw were face to face. I did 2 home visits, telephone calls including a long phone call to someone who was severely depressed, and then prescriptions as I quickly had a sandwich. I admitted 2 patients, after seeing them myself, to hospital which takes time. No one in my practice is shying away from work-all our face to face appointments are used when appropriate, we are offering a combo of on the day calls, urgent face to face following a call (so we can ensure a scarce resource is used approximately), routine calls (later in the week or following week) with an appointment time given and some routine face to face appointments. There are just not enough appointments to go around- we are short staffed. I left last night an hour after my finish time and only because I had to pick my child up. The partners were still calling patients from the duty list having been busier than me all day.

We are seeing face to face when needed but it is not as simple as switching back to full face to face overnight. We have staff shielding, our waiting room space is limited and we have to maintain social distance within it. It isn’t feasible to have a full face to face clinic as per precovid as we don’t have the room. I have the added PPE change between each patient and room cleaning.

Yes we are a year on and how my practice is now running is very different from the early days, with a more hybrid model. We are learning and adapting trying to make the experience better for patients but change does take time. Appointments were already short precovid. We have instructions from the CCG and RCGP that we have to meet- we aren’t allowed in our CCG to just return to full normal face to face. Each practice is doing things differently, and not all practices are doing it well but we are trying. Most GPs at my practice would prefer to be doing face to face appointments as they are easier in a lot of ways but we can’t have full pre covid levels of face to face.

I do not get why some aren't, here they have been open throughout. Admittedly the duty doctor has been doing phone triage first, but for many people that works out better. We have had to physically go in a few times and it's been same day, and when we couldn't get to the 'covid symptoms but need to see GP for something else' hub they even came to our house in full PPE. No idea how some are making it work and some aren't, this is a busy surgery that serves far more people than it should as developers are building quicker than they can recruit and find space for GPs.

I prefer telephone appointments. I can pop somewhere quiet at work for ten minutes to have them rather than having to ask for a couple of hours off. I hope they remain an option after the pandemic ends.

The difficult thing for me re: phone appointments is that they never actually call back in the allotted time slot. I was told 10-12:30 - nothing. They phoned hours later when I was collecting DS from his grandparents and I missed it. And so the process begins again.

They're private businesses, frosty, so they can decide, to an extent.

I think there is very much a place for telephone and video consultations as well as face to face but that has to be based on clinical need and not just keeping patients out of the practise.

We have had some fantastic appointments via video and call this year but some things need face to face.

My GP will do a telephone appointment and during that appointment automatically send you to A&E. My husband was sent to A&E over something the GP could sort out. He felt really guilty. The staff at the hospital gave him the impression they are fed-up with GPs sending patients to them.

My husband has been working throughout, been in contact with the public throughout, so it really annoys him our GP is being so precious. I work with the public too, so I'm annoyed for him.

I dropped off a sample to the GP surgery the other day, but not before the receptionist barked through an intercom asking what I was there for, and only being let in after I explained. I put the sample on the desk and left, literally 3 seconds. They make you feel so unwelcome and you feel like you aren't entitled to primary care. Everything is too much bother.

Mine is phone appointments only and they don't give a time at all - just that it will be later that day. I can take personal calls (within reason) during the working day, but the last time the GP rang me back while I was on a work call .

I do wonder how GPs are meant to diagnose some problems without face-to-face; for example, a chest infection, don't they have to listen to the individual's breathing?

Our GP surgery isn't doing any face-to-face yet. Mind you, our dentist hasn't resumed normal practice either, they are still only seeing emergencies.

Exactly. My OH has had an opticians appointment for a normal eye test but apparently it's "too dangerous" for the NHS to do my diabetic eye test and too dangerous for my GP surgery to do my yearly diabetic foot check.

How ridiculous. And very frustrating/dangerous for you. It amazes me that GPs are (very well imo) paid by the NHS and yet not governed as a whole by the organisation who pays them. They are able to decide within their own practices to do whatever they like, including turn themselves into a protected species.

@ArtemisiaGentle

My GP will do a telephone appointment and during that appointment automatically send you to A&E. My husband was sent to A&E over something the GP could sort out. He felt really guilty. The staff at the hospital gave him the impression they are fed-up with GPs sending patients to them.

My husband has been working throughout, been in contact with the public throughout, so it really annoys him our GP is being so precious. I work with the public too, so I'm annoyed for him.

I dropped off a sample to the GP surgery the other day, but not before the receptionist barked through an intercom asking what I was there for, and only being let in after I explained. I put the sample on the desk and left, literally 3 seconds. They make you feel so unwelcome and you feel like you aren't entitled to primary care. Everything is too much bother.

My DH was also sent to A&E by the GP as they were not taking appointments. He apologised profusely to A&E and they rolled their eyes and said they were sick of it happening too.

Mine are but only after a telephone consultation first.
Tbh where I live the service is so much better.
Being able to message photos across and get a prescription sent electronically same day. Now everything seems to be done same day rather then having to go into the ridiculous queuing system.

We have never stopped seeing patients face-to-face.

Both myself and DP have had routine eye tests with an optician too.

@bananaspanner

Your experience is exactly what I mean

How many cases of lung cancer are being missed because of this kind of lapse care.

(I'm not suggesting yours is that btw but many cases might be.)

I have small skin lesion that won't heal. I went to gp Pre covid and was given cream. 18 month in and through covid it's the lesion is still there. I've had two phone cons and they won't see me in person. I've been referred to a dermatologist and even that first cons was a telephone one. My next follow up one better be face to face or I'm going to get very vocal.

It definitely depends on your individual practice i think.
Last year it was June when my df got a letter telling him to shield, he's 90 and had two chest infections in 2019, you would think he'd be top of the list for a letter.
He's now got problems with his hearing and has been prescribed olive oil without anyone seeing him. It may sound minor but he lives on his own and phone calls are his only contact.
And of course he keeps forgetting to put the oil in anyway.

We have never stopped seeing patients face-to-face.

It should be the case across the board. I'm guessing that GP's who decide that they're not seeing patients face to face are still being paid the same as those who are....