Unusually good GP care?

[pelagra]

Family member in his late 60s tested positive at the weekend. Today the GP phoned to see how he is, and offer the loan of a pulse oximeter. I'm surprised and impressed at this level of care, combined with just a twinge of anxiety that the test has shown up a more dangerous variant.

Is this standard GP protocol nowadays?

Our lovely GP’s often randomly call patients to see how they are faring and, in pre Covid times, even visited patients in hospital. It does tend to be patients they have a fondness for and/or great familiarity with, not something they do for everyone -far too many patients for that.
I hope they have a speedy recovery

That sounds positive and he sounds like a caring GP.

We didn’t get anything like that when my parents had (and later passed away from) covid.

But my MILs GP was a godsend and spent hours with her when she was terminally ill earlier this year, including being with her on a home visit when she passed away. He came along to her funeral, in his scrubs. He said that he would have done the same for any of his patients, but he had just warmed to MIL. So some GPs are just like that!

Sounds like a lovely GP! Can we borrow him?🤓😇
You mentioned a more dangerous variant. Are you talking about something different to delta?

It's not a personal connection, as he is fairly new to that surgery, and has not seen a GP there. So far as I know, he has no pre-existing conditions, so there doesn't seem a high level of risk.

Are you talking about something different to delta?
No idea really, just trying to understand if there is more risk than I am aware of, or whether this is just good care.

This is relatively common - there ate outreach programmes to get oximeters out to potentially more risky patients (could be something as simple as age etc).

So it is good care, but not a cause for concern. Hope they are feeling well and recover soon.

Here you go: over 65 meets the criteria.

www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-at-home/covid-oximetry-at-home/

Thanks, that explains it. So different from our experience early in the first wave, when one young relative was told to stay at home even when he was barely able to speak.

I was given a pulse oxomiter by the COVID Oximetry @home service. It's centrally run in this area so not GP led. I qualified as CEV and they rang me 3 days after my positive test saying that they were given a list each day of positive cases who were vulnerable (by this time I was quite ill).
They rang me every day until I ended up in hospital and I had a 24 hour number to ring for help.
Once I was discharged from hospital they had an even better service which was hospital run and consultant led.

My GP on the other hand was rubbish. I rang for help before I got the call from Oximetry. The response I got was
a) don't come here we can't deal with covid (I was bedridden) and
b) if you need to be seen call 999.

I got a phone call too. I'm 43 and in good health but I have asthma (not bad enough to be group 6).

I was delighted. He called 2hra after my positive result came through. He tried 3 times on mobile and house phone (I was ignoring phone to avoid T&T).

He asked me how I was feeling, what my symptoms were, had a little chat and offered me the oxygen monitoring. I already had an oximeter so said thank you, but I'm fine.

Our GPs are amazing. Can get face to face if needed. Econsult usually gets a phone call the same day. Can go in to collect repeat prescriptions etc.