Testers - please share your experience with GPDQ below.
1 Who did you book this service for: family member (adult/ child), yourself, colleague?
Myself
2 Would you use the service again in the future?
If I had the money, and was in sufficient trauma/state of frustration with the NHS, yes. Bit beyond my price level, then again when I had root canal agony I paid about £200 to see a dentist and I'd have paid anything to end the pain!
3 Who would you book the service for in the future?
Daughter, wife, myself, anyone really, if I thought they needed it.
4 How did you book?
With some difficulty. I would have liked to have done it on my desktop machine, but had to use the iPhone, and naturally my daughter has been raising my Apple store account and changed all the passwords, then forgotten them, so I had some trouble.
Apparently phoning is an option. If only I'd known!
5 Ease of use of app?
It might be me, but I did have a few problems. Then again, my user name gives a clue to my technical abilities.
6 Price - do you feel the price is fair for the service you received - weekday £120, weekend £150, bank holiday £200
I used it as a free trial, so it's not applicable.
I might well pay £120 if I was sufficiently desperate. `It all depends on how good my relationship is with my normal GP
7 Speed - how fast did your doctor arrive?
Timing was an issue, as one doctor was coming and then they didn't and another came along. The one who did come along was brilliant, so I'm not complaining!
8 Quality of Service - are you happy with the service received
(see summary below). Yes, I thought he was excellent. He did the bit that most doctors don't do (possibly because they don't have time) - he listened. He was a really good listener and I could tell by his answers that he understood what I was worried about.
The problem I've got has been with me three years and in all that time i've had to relay the story of how the accident happened, where the pain is, what muscles have atrophied etc endlessly. And the range of ways they interpret this information is amazing.
Since doctors are so busy, I think their minds are probably processing lots of different things at once. The last surgeon I saw took a phone call during our consultation. It turns out it was his builders (he having some work done on his house) and he reassured them he would be home soon to meet them. Implication: I just have to ret rid of this pesky patient first!
The doctor from GPDQ seemed to understand that patients can feel a lot less stressed and more in control when they are armed with a little knowledge. I want to get my knowledge from a doctor, not from Google, or a bloke in Weatherspoons or a friend.
9 Would you recommend the service to a friend?
Yes. (Obviously I'd warn them about the price, and the waiting time. but that's their decision)
SUMMARY
If someone had the money, I would definitely recommend GPDQ as the doctor I saw was brilliant. He went over and above what a normal GP would do and was a very good listener. Having listened, he addressed all the points I was worried about (such as the atrophy of my hand muscles) and gave me far more comprehensive information about the causes and possible courses of action I could take. Also, he told me more about the way the NHS works, and the options available to the patient, than I've had in three years of trailing between three different hospitals and two medical practices trying to work out why my arm is numb and the muscles in my hand are wasting away.
If anyone has a tricky, mysterious condition, I would definitely recommend GPDQ. The only problem is, I can't remember the doctor's name! But If I knew his name I would definitely advise you to ask for him. I know he is a Locum (which is NHS speak for a freelancer) and he sits on an advisory board for the general medical council, so he's very good at telling you the stuff you don't even know that you need to know.