Consideration from GP

MaddyOne , I could engage with you on the question of relative pay scales, but this thread about Luckygirl's distress is is not the place .

Having said that, I endorse your sympathy and practical advice. I wish receptionists were better at public relations!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

....So what are they doing?

If you had read through the thread loopyloo you would ^know ^what GPs are doing. But I’m giving up, I can’t be bothered any longer, the sheer ignorance is astounding.

Apologies Maddyone - fat finger syndrome again ?

No problem Maw but in any case your post has disappeared.

Agree with all posters and they have given good advice. Dont think doctors are too buzy as people staying home !

Our GP’s are exceptional and always have been. My DD has had the virus and pneumonia that often follows, she’s had daily phone calls from our GP to check on her, yesterday she had a consultation in the surgery carpark to have her oxygen levels checked and to check her chest. 1st class service.

Our GP’s are always busy, do an amazing job and have done for the more than 20 years we’ve been with the surgery.

That is how it has been with our practice up to last week. I am assuming they are under stress and understand that; I will still book with a different GP next time I need to consult them- I am too fragile at the moment to deal with confrontation.

I’ve just read an article in The Guardian, two doctors who are married both got Coronavirus, one worked in the hospital, the other a GP.
What was that about doctors not being busy? Sheer ignorance.

maddyone - please be assured that most of us fully support our family doctors, all doctors in the NHS, nurses, care workers and everyone involved in key worker posts keeping us safe.
It's only a few people with odd ideas, don't let it get to you.

Thank you Iam64 it means a lot that people are supportive because as you know, I know first hand about the stresses and strains in General Practice at this difficult time.

After my fall and wrist injury last week I was seen at our local minor injuries unit As I had also sustained facial injuries the nurse told me to see my GP a few days later. I rang on the Friday, booked a telephone consultation for the Monday, spoke to a lovely doctor and she saw me later that day to check my nose out. On my way out I saw my regular doctor who said she was going to do a covid clinic at our minor injuries unit where there are also beds. They earn every penny.

grannysyb - I have a different but equally positive experience with my gp this week. I had a phone call from the receptionist asking if it would be convenient for one of the doctors to phone me that afternoon to complete the annual review for my as a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. The GP duly phoned within 5 mins of the agreed time. He spent 25 minutes talking through the questions I'm familiar with but used to answering in a face to face consultation. the doctor could not have been minder or more empathic. He asked if I was following the Shielding letter advice and went on to discuss in full the one area in which I'm not 100% compliant. The advice is don't leave the house for 12 weeks. I'm continuing to walk for an hour every morning. I'm very fortunate, if I chose the area I walk in, I'm unlikely to meet groups, runners or (the most scary group) mountain bike riders who are dominating our usual reservoir and parkland walks.
The doctor recognised the balance of risk, my need to keep moving or I'll seize up. He advised me to keep doing what I'm doing but ensure I stay as safe as possible. He was well aware of the physical and emotional pressures of this lockdown.
He concluded by ensuring I understand that if I feel unwell or I'm worrying about anything at all, to phone the surgery and one of the doctors will respond.
yes grannysyb, they earn every penny.

Two lovely, positive posts about GPs. Thank you ladies.

GPs are mostly great - I know that for sure. My OP was not GP-knocking! I was expressing disappointment that my GP had failed to provide professional help at a time when I was very fragile. And she must have known that.

My OH was a GP and was a brilliant diagnostician - he had the sort of memory that retained obscure facts and was well known for hitting the nail on the head with a diagnosis that others had missed. Unfortunately the stress of the job made him unwell and we all bore the brunt of that. It is a very stressful job at the best of times and I fully understand that they must be under a great deal of strain at the moment.

I certainly didn’t think your OP was GP knocking Luckygirl, but as the mother of a GP I was quite upset by just a few posters who have said that GPs have little to do at the moment, when clearly they have no idea of the extra stresses on GPs at this time and the additional things they have been required to do. Certainly many GPs are treating Covid19 patients who are in care homes, very often that is palliative care and it’s crucial that those patients are not allowed to die in pain and suffering.
Thankfully those posters were few in number and I still believe that most patients are appreciative of their GP.
Sadly just as I write this I see on television yet another funeral of a doctor. So very sad. And sadly some of the doctors who have died are GPs.

yesterday i had an email from our GP surgery, stating that they will be open on the bank holiday, 8.30 to 6pm, but not to go there, ring or via website, and outside those hours ring 111.
i had the same message re good friday and easter monday.
so they are working more than usual, on this point alone.

That's sad. Your GP sounds very unsympathetic and uninterested. Having been a Primary Care Practice Manager for 20 years, I can advise you to write to the Practice Manager who would follow this up. The other side of the coin of course is that we forget that medics are just people. Not excusing your GPs behaviour really, but who knows what sort of day she was having? Argued with her husband? Just had patient in her consulting room that she had to give bad news to? Who knows.

I wish I could do links because I’ve just read an article in The Guardian online that a GP wrote about contracting Covid19 in her surgery because she had no PPE. Many patients were going to see her with coughs and sore throats, and many had just returned from holidays in Europe. Almost inevitably she became ill with the virus and ended up taking five weeks at work as she was so ill. She was lucky, she recovered.