Will we ever get to see a GP again in person?

[londongirl993]

Finding it soooo frustrating being unable to see a GP face to face. I rang up a few weeks ago with a problem. I had to send pictures of it. The problem hasn’t gone away so now I have to start again. If they don’t see me in person this time I will have no choice but to go to a walk-in centre. When will our GP surgeries re-open again - half of the UK adult population have been vaccinated!!

That must be really frustrating. I quite like telephone and video consultations, but I've seen my GP face to face 3 times in the last 4 weeks. I hope your issue is sorted out soon

I saw my GP last week. GPs are going to continue the balance of telephone/video consultations then in person if they deem it necessary to see the patient in person. My practice manages this very well but it's very dependent on the practice, the manager and the doctors.

I love the telephone /video/photo consultations. 99% of the time I know exactly what I need from the GP, just need to get them to prescribe it/do the referal etc. So much more convenient to simply be able to do this from home rather than wrangling 2 kids into/out of and into/out of a car again and contend with feeds/ nappy changes etc.
Also will save the nhs a fortune as they must be able to see far more people in a day by phone/video consultation than have them all visit the surgery. It’s about time the nhs caught up with the rest of the world and made use of the technology out there. They are highly trained professionals who can determine if they need to see you in person and yes I have been seen a few months ago the same day after speaking with a gp over the phone. The more people dealt with by phone/video/photo then the more actual spaces freed up for those who actually need to be physically seen. Only a step in the right direction. Nhs wastes huge amounts of money on stuff that’s done simply because‘that’s the way it’s always been’.

I hope so too. I also do not like the telephone consults - I find it really difficult and don't feel like the nurse practitioner (you never get a GP) is taking in what I say. I would just find it a whole more easy face to face. I think it will stay like this though, it is easier for them.

GPs are going to continue the balance of telephone/video consultations then in person if they deem it necessary to see the patient in person.

This is a huge problem for many.

I'm autistic and I need face to face. I haven't even called the GP in the past year because a telephone consult leaves me feeling worse than no appointment at all.

I think it depends on the surgery. Mine have a very efficient system, where the GP calls you back the same day and then if they think its necessary, they have you in later that some day or the next day. No waiting weeks to see or even speak to someone like before covid.

I want them to reopen too. Our GP surgery is not great at the moment. If you get a telephone appointment you are told they will ring between 0800 - 1300. If you miss the call they don't ring back!

I work in a GP surgery and it's so difficult trying to deal with queries "through the door" especially when you have hearing loss and wearing a mask. I'm just waiting for my practice to install a full sized glass partition on the Reception desk.

The waiting room won't be like it was before though, everyone sitting down waiting for the GP and having the vibe of a social club (an area where everyone knows each other or are related to).

I've had a couple of face to face appointments. Both logged on the online system first then they asked me to go in. One was for an appointment 45min after I spoke to the GP on the phone and the other was booked a few days ahead when I logged the online request. One was to take swabs to check for infection and make sure I got the right treatment. I've also had telephone consultations for other issues that were fine and all that were needed. I like the system and being able to submit issues online means you don't have to battle with the receptionist to justify that you're ill enough to see a Dr!

It really depends on the surgery - they're not all doing the same

DH is a GP and they have been seeing f2f throughout in full PPE, but only if necessary e.g. examination needed etc. However they are relaxing this now and want to do more f2f appts. However DH's friend who is a doctor in another practice in our city is not doing any f2f at all - all over the phone, which must be very difficult.

When you sent the photo, what was the response?

Every time I've phoned the GP I've had a phone triage then I've seen them afterwards

I think the telephone system actually works well: the doctor rings back, you discuss the issue, then they book you in or arrange tests without having to wait two weeks for a f2f appointment.

Perhaps they could have a morning a week for f2f for those who absolutely cannot use the telephone.

I do believe there has been the positive effect of getting rid of time wasters. Mil used to visit the doctor every single week. She actually said if she missed a week, “Oooh, Dr Smith will be wondering about me...” (Dr Smith removed mil from his list and palmed her off on someone else.....)

I've had face to face appointments twice since lockdown and once with my dc. I do quite like the video calls for things that can be done like this

The mother is trying to see a doctor about a recurring foot infection that saw her hospitalised with Sepsis last year.

Frankly, it ridiculous. She's 76 and has an iPhone 11 but only uses it basically.

The doctors have said she needs to send the pictures using java script. I have no idea how to do that and I work in IT. I could figure it out but my mother lives 350 miles away and I'd never be able to talk her through it - took me half an hour to take her through finding the +1 channels on sky!

As she can't she has to wait for the doctors to come out after 3pm today. She can't go there as, and I quote "we don't want patients in our surgery"

They will be the first to complain when the whole thing gets privatised if they keep this up.

I think that confidentiality is a big problem with phone/video calls. Not everyone has somewhere private/sound proof where they can discuss personal things with the GP. Such as being at work, or in a household where you don't want your co-workers or family members to hear your conversation. We do need the option to be able to have F2F sessions in private when necessary, especially for "mental" health related issues such as eating disorders or for personal/intimate issues.

I hope so. At my practice, the move to telephone consultations haven’t altered the most irritating part of seeing a GP, which is having to phone up at 8.30am to book one.

@NinjaJunkie

The mother is trying to see a doctor about a recurring foot infection that saw her hospitalised with Sepsis last year.

Frankly, it ridiculous. She's 76 and has an iPhone 11 but only uses it basically.

The doctors have said she needs to send the pictures using java script. I have no idea how to do that and I work in IT. I could figure it out but my mother lives 350 miles away and I'd never be able to talk her through it - took me half an hour to take her through finding the +1 channels on sky!

As she can't she has to wait for the doctors to come out after 3pm today. She can't go there as, and I quote "we don't want patients in our surgery"

They will be the first to complain when the whole thing gets privatised if they keep this up.

Oh that's terrible

I don't think GPs will complain if the whole thing is privatised, it's what they want.

I think if she's had sepsis it would be fair to go to A&E. awful treatment.

@Clangerschick

I love the telephone /video/photo consultations. 99% of the time I know exactly what I need from the GP, just need to get them to prescribe it/do the referal etc. So much more convenient to simply be able to do this from home rather than wrangling 2 kids into/out of and into/out of a car again and contend with feeds/ nappy changes etc. Also will save the nhs a fortune as they must be able to see far more people in a day by phone/video consultation than have them all visit the surgery. It’s about time the nhs caught up with the rest of the world and made use of the technology out there. They are highly trained professionals who can determine if they need to see you in person and yes I have been seen a few months ago the same day after speaking with a gp over the phone. The more people dealt with by phone/video/photo then the more actual spaces freed up for those who actually need to be physically seen. Only a step in the right direction. Nhs wastes huge amounts of money on stuff that’s done simply because‘that’s the way it’s always been’.

Seeing more patients in a day because we are using telephone/video just shows how little people understand about our job. How do we deal with medical problems faster because they are over the phone??? Telephone and video is a consultation which take just as long and often longer than face to face. You lose so much of the consultation over the phone. Also I often decide after speaking to people that I still need to see them so I have to bring them down later that day if urgent or later in the week if not.

It is incredibly inefficient to do solely telephone consultations. I agree wholeheartedly that the telephone is great for quick reviews in some cases but we always did that.

It is also not safe keeping everything over the phone. I can sort some quite complex cases out in 15 minutes face to face but if I have to speak in the phone then bring them down it takes far longer.

I hate it and I am hoping we will be allowed to open our doors to normal again soon. Problem is crowded waiting rooms in smaller surgeries.

Someone also mentioned upthread about it getting rid of time wasters....it absolutely doesn't...phonecalls mean people are happier to wait around for a call as they can go and get on with things so don't have to make the effort to go in for an appointment.

We give people a timeframe when we will call. Your app is at 9.30 the GP should call up to 20 minutes after that. (Allows for when we run late) if I call early and they don't reply I phone back at the appointment time and if you don't answer (unless you phone back very quickly) you miss your appointment. If people know you are phoning back at a certain time they can be more prepared for the call.

@Musicaltheatremum

Sounds like you're doing it the right way. Unfortunately, my GP surgery won't give time slots - it's basically "sometime today" and then if you don't answer when they call, you go down as a FTA and have to ring again the next morning to arrange another!

If phone appts are the way forward, GP surgeries need to provide online booking to avoid the 8am fiasco and provide a rough time slot.

I've had two face to face appointments during the lockdowns and a couple of other sets of blood tests drawn off. All stuff that couldn't be done over the phone. So my experience of our local surgery hasn't been too bad.

My mother's surgery though is terrible. They upped the drawbridge back at the start of the pandemic and have hardly been contactable since. During that time my Dad had several exacerbations of his medical conditions and we quickly learned that we might just as well not bother calling the surgery. Phones rarely got answered and even on the rare occasion you did get through all they ever did was send ambulance and paramedics. So we took to calling those ourselves in the end.

On one occasion I was with my parents on a day when my Dad needed the paramedics. They needed some information from his GP before probably taking him to hospital and it took them an hour and a half on the phone to get through. Terrible service!

In the past my sister and I have tried to get help for our parents from their GP, and have given up getting through by phone first as it almost never got answered. We could only drive to the surgery and plant ourselves there first as it was the only way to get through at all.

The system needs to be fully opened up again. There are many good GPs' surgeries trying hard in difficult circumstances, but there are others where a kick up the arse is needed.

And it would help if the GP calls the number you give them. Our surgery always ask which number is best, i.e. home, work or mobile, and nearly every time, they've ignored that and rung the home number.

Every single time they use the wrong number.
I really struggle with telephone consults, I'm slightly deaf and my GP has a strong accent so there is an awful lot of "pardon", "sorry what did you say?".
I do agree there is a place for them, monitoring existing conditions and medications. I used to like e-consult but they now just go to admin staff to use them as triage and tell you to ring for an appointment. I also had a receptionist ring me to redirect me to a pharmacy. She had read half my written consultation and misunderstood. She argued and I ended up having to discuss clinical details with her that I didn't want to.