Worried about seeing your GP?

Mirren, that is just awful! All that experience wasted.

Is this any different from what would be required of me should I decide to return to work as a solicitor? I would have to undertake some sort of refresher course in order to obtain a practising certificate and, thereafter, continuing education each year. Surely it is all the more important that someone who is responsible for people’s lives, rather than just, in my case, money, should be able to prove that they are absolutely up to date? It may have been a sensible emergency measure to encourage retired doctors back into practice, but never having had a negligence claim is insufficient proof of current ability to practise safely.

Mirren how utterly dispiriting for you. And your patients.
A huge thank you though for returning to work in these straightened times.
You will be missed that’s for sure.

I wish that you were my GP !

I have now telephoned my surgery to get a 'phone appointment six times .
The first time , I called at the wrong time - my mistake . I was told that two appointments were available , but couldn't be booked .

Each time I call : I've waited about 45 minutes to be told after irritating music and recorded messages that there are no more appointments and to try again .

Mirren thanks for all those years. What is the training being offered?
Two of our best GPs have been retired ten years, as have I. I’d definitely prefer to see one of them than the exhausted overstretched yiung ones in what was their practice.

German shepherd mum, I absolutely agree...but I am not " returning " to work.
I had a very short time off before the pandemic, have practiced for 40 + years, and have worked almost 4 years since the start of Covid. I have kept up to date, as life long learning is essential, as you know, if you were a solicitor.

Think again, Marydoll, Urms, Esmay - wouldn’t you prefer to know that your GP was bang up to date? I know I would. The NHS cannot afford to employ doctors who are not up to date. As with law, changes in medicine happen all the time. A doctor who is unwilling to acknowledge that is, in my view, dangerous.

But GSM would you have been allowed to resume your profession, after you’d been begged to return, for four years before re licensing?

I think it’s appalling Mirren and I will contact my MP.

I wonder why we all have to ‘ring on the day’?
It seems a new concept that’s stuck.
Why can’t we book for say a week on Monday (as we do at the dentist).
Just save a few slots for urgencies each day surely? That would put an end to the silly 8am scramble and ‘triage’ by GPs. Wasting their time (it didn’t used to be necessary) and ours!

This what I am reading:

The Return to Practice (RtP) programme is designed for General Practitioners (GPs) who have previously been on the General Medical Council (GMC) GP Register and England Medical Performers List (MPL) and would like to return to work in general practice after a break in their career, raising a family or time spent working abroad.

^The programme offers personalised pathways based on the individual needs of each returning GP. It has been developed in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and British Medical Association (BMA).

If you had only been out of general practice for a short time before returning, one would assume your pathway would not be as long as someone who has been out of action for a longer period.

GSM -
I am thinking again and I'd like some reassurance about my
condition , which is now in the third month .
I'm not functioning properly and I'm scared .

GSM, if Mirren was deem fit to practise for the last four years, without any restrictions, why is she no longer deemed fit?

I would prefer to have someone like Mirren, than the young GP, who totally missed that the medication she prescribed was unsuitable for me. It was the pharmacist, who picked up on it and I eventually managed to get an appointment with an experienced GP, who realised what the issue was and contacted my cardiologist.

A short time off breaks your continuity of knowledge. Whatever the NHS deems necessary to ensure that you can practise safely should be acceptable to you, rather than relying on your years of practising without claims. I would not hesitate to say that if I were to return to the law I should undertake whatever course of study the Law Society, and professional indemnity insurers, deemed appropriate. To put it bluntly, one cannot trade on past success.

Jaxjacky

But GSM would you have been allowed to resume your profession, after you’d been begged to return, for four years before re licensing?

I think it’s appalling Mirren and I will contact my MP.

No, I would not. Solicitors are required to have a practising certificate which is only renewed each year on proof that they have undertaken the necessary continuing education during the previous year, and must also have professional indemnity insurance, renewable each year. It seems the requirements of the medical profession are somewhat different.

Urmstongran

I wonder why we all have to ‘ring on the day’?
It seems a new concept that’s stuck.
Why can’t we book for say a week on Monday (as we do at the dentist).
Just save a few slots for urgencies each day surely? That would put an end to the silly 8am scramble and ‘triage’ by GPs. Wasting their time (it didn’t used to be necessary) and ours!

I e mailed my MP recently about changes with the appointment booking system at our GP’s. It’s now same day and the Ask My GP system, which used to work well, now closes a few minutes after 8.

To be fair, my MP’s office responded swiftly, resulting in the Practice Manager phoning me to discuss it.

Basically, they have had to alter things as they were not meeting targets for appointment times. She acknowledged it’s not perfect, and will be monitored and adjusted as time progresses. She helpfully said it’s now how most practices work! (In case I was thinking of moving, I assume!)

I just hope DH and I keep reasonably well and don’t need to see the doctor much.

We don't have to 'ring on the day'. We ring, wait in the queue, and usually get an appointment in a week or so. If it's urgent they may fit us in earlier.

P.S.

Should have said, the main problem is far too many people trying to book too few available appointments, and nowhere near enough staff to deal with them.

And our little town is growing, but the doctor’s, dentists, (no NHS ones) and schools still the same as years ago. Far too many people living here now outstripping capacity.

I wish I had the confidence that GPs were all up to date. My GP who is actually really good and supportive said with a rather glum expression. He wished he had the time to keep up to date as there is so much in the way of new development.
What does this miracle “Return to practice “course consist of and how long does it take

Mirren: have you sent your excellent post anywhere else?
e.g. The BBC or The Guardian or Times? It is worth sharing beyond the readership of this forum.

I can’t understand why our surgery (and others locally) are still behaving like we are in the middle of a pandemic and they are so overworked, receiving “an unprecedented number of calls” etc then when you finally get an appointment the whole place is deserted. It’s not just me, everybody I speak to says the same.

Also really interesting that so many Doctors are now part time.

I like the same day appointments. Our GP has always used this system. I can book online and have always managed to get an appointment. They also release appointments for a week ahead. We have the choice of seeing a doctor, a nurse practioner, a paramedic, a pharmacist or a physio.

Mirren
You’re not alone. I read this some weeks back.

www.msn.com/en-gb/health/health-news/dr-martin-scurr-i-had-to-do-13-woke-doctor-courses-to-rejoin-nhs/ar-AA1n4whj

I can`t remember the last time I saw a doctor, I always end up with a nurse.

If there is mention of "individual pathways" then surely the refresher course could be tailored to suit a GB who has only been out of the profession for a short while. A box ticking exercise.