gp surgeries

Ours have gone to 'new working practices'
Not had a face to face appointment for nearly two years. Every thing telephone or computer based.
God help those who are not computer savvy.

It certainly seems to be the luck of the draw when it comes to getting appointments and being seen by a GP. I've unfortunately had various issues during the past 2 years and I must say my surgery has been superb. I have never failed to speak to a Dr on the day I've needed to and, where necessary, I have also been seen. I have had several procedures in the outpatients department of our local hospital and all has gone well. I really can't fault the service. By contrast, my friend in a different part of the country had a worrying chest complaint but couldn't get to speak to her surgery. She was asked to submit an email with her symptoms and would then be contacted. The reply came back that the surgery was very busy, they were understaffed and short of money, she would have to go to A&E or a drop in centre. She did the latter ^ was discovered to have a severe chest infection necessitating an x ray and 2 lots of antibiotics. She is a really active person but ended up being ill for 6 weeks. Her surgery, on the outskirts of a major city, is on the verge of closing. Im very grateful for my own surgery.

knspol - all our GPs are part-time too but they are all female. I feel sorry for men with an 'embarrassing' problem. During covid the GPs were working from home but it was deemed OK for the nurses and registrars to do face to face appointments. It's a bit better now but to get an appt you still have to be telephoned by a doctor.

The reason us much maligned GPs ( who doesn't just love a GP bashing session ,eh ?) stopped people coming into the surgery was for YOUR benefit.... a surgery is a place that can be full of germs ( or that nasty coronavirus)but also full of vulnerable patients..... which probably includes you , if you are older, overweight, diabetic, hypertensive.... you may not think simple things like highBP puts you at risk but they jolly well do .
It's far safer to deal with simple things remotely.... but it is NOT easier work for us .
Please, stop moaning, get on board with e consults and phone consults .
We can't see everyone safely for every little thing .
I know you all love to go and chat with your own lovely GP .... but she has 8000 patients and everyone deserves equal treatment.

Not a hope. GPs are saying they were working under huge pressure before Covid and want the system to continue with only selected face to face appointments. My DH is having palliative care and he has only been given 1 face to face monitoring appointment with an Oncologist since last August. All appointments ie chemo service, cancer care emergency service, GP have been via phone. He is deaf so basically whoever is phoning states whatever, I have to relay to DH who can then reply. So, so frustrating. He does have pre chemo blood tests done by GP nurse. Only time real live people dealt with DH was when ambulance was needed before Christmas. Staffed by Army personnel who were wonderful.

It's like trying to get into Fort Knox at our surgery.

There was an interesting letter in the Times a few weeks ago from an English person living there who had no problem seeing his doctor and in the space a week had had a non urgent operation. ~This at the height of the pandemic.
I think perhaps the NHS needs a drastic overhaul .

My is reopened and have been to see the doctor or nurse a few times

If you need regular BP checks then it’s fairly cheap to buy a monitor and send the result to your surgery. I’ve been doing so for years, since well before the pandemic.
I’m a member of the patient liaison group for our surgery and I know how hard every member of staff has worked during the pandemic, having to cope with staff sickness and working at the vaccination hub as well as their normal work. We are lucky enough to have highly qualified nurse practitioners, paramedics and community pharmacist, all of whom are able to see patients and refer on if need be. We all need to learn that we don’t always need to see a GP.
Incidentally, I hear people say GPs haven’t been working during the pandemic. If you think that a 14 hour day is “not working” then you are deluded.

I phoned my surgery at 11. 30 this morning. I have a face to face at 1.45. Can’t get better than that ?

I think we have been lucky with our GP practice- have always been able to see a doctor if I’ve deemed it necessary. We have several part timers there so I may not see my own doctor but that doesn’t bother me. Perhaps we have a very good practice manager?

They are supposed to be doing face to face already. Having said that, my surgery was already starting to use on line services before Covid-19 so all they did was bring it forward. I find it quite useful. However if someone wants a face to face I have been told its very difficult. In my personal experience when my late husband needed a face to face they were very quick to give us an appointment, usually with a nurse though.

The 'new' way of working will stay in my opinion but with a little tweaking. There has been so much bad publicity coming the way of GP services that the NHS is now beginning to wake up and accept that we need face-to-face appointments outside the framework of A+E if hospitals are to operate (not even efficiently). I don't see a problem with sending an email to request a consultation but the idea of having a zoom consultation with a physiotherapist about one's dodgy knee is ridiculous and just puts another two months in the waiting period. We need to keep the best of what the pandemic has taught us and ditch the worst (which is the majority).

My local practice is great, everything as usual, tho' it was emergencies only during the first lockdown.
Telephone consultations are more often the rule, which suits me fine for many problems, but I've been seen F2F on three occasions.

When the telephone/video appointments started in the pandemic ex Health Minister, Matt Hancock, stated the intention to keep the practice to take pressure of GPS. Not heard anything to the contrary, despite protestations.

Our surgery re-opened for normal operation today. From today you can actually go inside and collect/order prescriptions inside too! Managed to make Mr Patty an appointment but it's not for 10 days!?!?

Having had two hospital appoints in twelve months
ie ecg and a pelvic exray which both need a one to one but can only get a telephone consultation with my GP.?

Goldenage my daughter is a First Contact Physio. She does a telephone triage to assess how urgent or not a problem is, she can the refer straight to f2f or other services ie X-ray so that it speeds things up. Patients can book with her without seeing a GP. The staff in these roles are highly experienced and know by questioning the best way forward.

I have been seen 3 times in the surgery since pandemic struck plus for shingles jab, flu jab and initial vaccination. I have had telephone conversations, blood tests by practice nurse plus fast tracked to the hospital for a lump scare. My partner is being seen on Thursday face to face for what we suspect ( hope) is a chest infection. Our clinic is now open again all day as are the other two clinics linked with the practice. I feel very lucky plus we live in the suburbs of a very deprived city in the north of England. I think you need to challenge your surgeries to make them realise you need to have face to face communication.

I was told that they will not go back to how it was, that it will remain as it is now. Saw the practive nurse today , first time in about 3 years (at home) she said the doctor works mornings, then does house calls then goes home. She also only works part time. I'm housebound and have real difficulty even getting to talk to a doctor.

So far...mine is the same. May change as we get better weather though I suppose.

I haven’t seen a doctor for over two years. I am housebound and when I asked to see a doctor a young paramedic came. Had to wait for two weeks for phone consultation because my pain was so bad and needed more painkillers. Was prescribed two more tablets a month.
My help cut her finger very badly and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. Was advised advised by the surgery nurse to go to A and E, 26 miles away. A and E questioned why the surgery nurse couldn’t attend to it.

Until last July we lived in Kent, it was nigh on impossible to get an appointment to see someone. As a result, a heart problem was missed which has had an ongoing impact on my life. I also became very anaemic which again was missed.

At the end of July, we moved to Cambridgeshire. Our doctors is a rural practice covering many villages. The staff are lovely, and they give us the option, phone call, internet, or face to face.

So I think it's really a postcode lottery.

I can't even get through on the phone, and the eConsult option has been stopped. I have nothing and I've needed an appointment of one sort or another since last November.

My GP Practice has never been shut - as a person with multiple incurable, chronic and progressive illnesses/conditions I have been seen almost weekly, as required, and am extremely grateful for that. Many friends and rural neighbours have been seen in the same way at the practice. Likewise with many of the 10/11 hospital specialists who care for me - had some Phone Consultations, but been seen Face-to-Face as required.