Doctors and how they come across

We have one that gets you in and out in 10 mins, doesnt really listen and is brusque. I kept going back and U was always given her. One appointment with a different Dr and he listened sent me for scans and was correct in his diagnosis. 4 months later operation and all sorted. That said my favourite Dr takes ages is always running late but is fab. Hard to get an appointment with her but she is so thorough, goes through everything, remembers past appointments and even follows up results by email. She got my husband to a physiotherapist who referred for an MRI and is now awaiting an operation 2 years after seeing numerous Dr's in our surgery. I also have been referred, quickly for tests for a new issue. She is like our old family Dr used to be. The practice receptionists complain about her as she overuns her 10 min appointments but I'd rather sit in the waiting room for a extra 40 mins to see her that get in/out with some of the others who just give you a prescription and shoo you out the door!!!

Does anyone know who I mean by Hugh Pym the BBC health editor. Years ago his late father was our family GP. His home and practice was just around the corner from us. He did home visits and even took me to our cottage hospital (long gone) to stitch my foot when I cut it at 10pm on Christmas Day. He also took my brother and I into his garden during our appointment so that we could see some kittens and choose one each. That was what you called a good GP who really knew his patients.

No one will be surprised to read that research confirms patients do better if they have continuity of care.
We moved surgery after fifty years as it plummeted from outstanding to needing improvement. We’d experienced several problems, one of which resulted in three year old grandchild on a paediatric ward for five nights. Our new surgery is outstanding but as everywhere, continuity of care isn’t easy.
Urgent appointments are seen on the day but no choice which dr. It’s a six or older wait to see the GP of choice z(especially if it’s one of the female docs )

My son has been 'under' a doctor for ages with no improvement. However, a new doctor has joined the practice and has spent time really listening. Lo and behold he's come up with something nobody had ever considered before and instigated a new form of treatment. My son calls him 'that good doctor'. So do I.

There's a new young gp and the practice I go to.
He pulls his chair round to face you, asks "what do you think about your health issue", and "what shall we do about that?"
I could kiss his feet, quite honestly,

I think it’s just unfortunate that that’s her personality.
Without wanting to sound offensive, I think, ‘The lovely family doctor of yesterday’ all had completely different personalities too so I think you’re remembering yesteryear a bit overly nostalgically.

My experience if GPs in the past is that they were every bit as good and every bit as bad as doctors today.

The fact that a GP has given continuity of care for 20 years can mean at least 10 years when you had a medical problem that did not go away because your continuity GP was a bad GP and dismissed serious problems.

That certainly applied to my MiL. It was only when the old buffer retired and she saw a new young doctor that two medical problems that were making her life a misery were finally dealt with making the last 15 yeas of her life her healthiest. and happiest..

At my local village surgery the appts for non urgent cases are now always 5/6 weeks ahead. It does appear that all appts, urgent included, are only taken by the trainee docs that are always at the surgery for short periods and not only aren't they qualified GP's but there is zero chance of any continuity. The closest I've come to a real doc has been a text telling me they have made an appt for me with a nurse. Nurse couldn't help so had to wait weeks to see a doc.

Our family doctor was horrible.
He was really snobby & sarcastic. My Mum was from a large, poor local family & I expect he was nice enough to his middle-class patients.
He also had his framed collections of birds eggs and butterflies in the waiting room, which (particularly the eggs) were frowned upon by that time (robbing nests for a perfect egg for your display.Really?)
Unbelievably snide with me on the day my Dad died of a heart attack.
Apart from him, the many doctors I've seen have all been OK.

MissAdventure Your new GP sounds like the consultant who treated my husband. When my husband was once blue lighted in with peritonitis he came down to A&E as soon as he came in to work and wheeled him off himself to get a scan done. At every appointment his first question was "How are you" and we wouldf go from there. When he had to tell me that my husband's cancer had become terminal he said "I can't treat him, but I can look after him" which was what he did for the final week. He had a very good registrar whom he was training in the same way.

It makes so much difference, doesn't it?
Just to feel someone is "on your side".

I used to work for a village surgery. No appointment necessary. If they didn’t know something that had happened to someone I would pre warn them. At the end of surgery I’d say haven’t seen Mrs so and so for a while and the doctor on duty would phone them up and ask them how they were. I used to deliver their prescriptions if they struggled to get to the surgery. Hugs were part of the service if we thought they would help. Never see the same doctor twice now. I’m sure the doctors got more satisfaction from their job back then even if they did have to be on call at night but then do surgery the next day. On one home visit a patient had to go to hospital and the doctor packed his suitcase for him. It all seemed to change when covid hit. I wouldn’t want to work there the way it is now. I loved my job.

You're lucky you get to see the same one twice, it's pot luck who you get at our surgery, plus it could be in any of 3 buildings in the area

Its roughly an eight week wait to see our nice new gp.
Not ideal.

Been in our current surgery for 4 years . Mostly excellent , some things not quite as good in the last year as it and 3 other surgeries all joined together .

I’m recovering at the moment from an operation . Had to arrange a wound check with the nurse who was lovely. Mentioned my pain had changed and was a bit worried and she said I’ll go and see if you can see someone . Came back and said wait in the waiting room your appt is in 5 minutes, and it was! History taken , really listened to, came out with a prescription which really helped my pain so I really can’t complain about our surgery at the moment.

Moved to this one due to moving house. Don’t get me started on the previous one, it was dire .

So basically you are choosing experience over manner. That's fine and I don't think she will care one way or another as you are 1 less totreat on her list. You are very lucky to have a choice of and to change GP's

My assigned, named on my notes and all correspondence Doctor who I had a respect for and him me
Well it seems they go out of their way to make sure you/ I cant ever speak to him and have passed me on to a lady whose contempt and or actual hate I can actually feel, even over the phone. As a child I remember home visits , the Dr knew the whole family and situation
Now you get various Drs looking at your file/situation and not one of them can connect any dots as they used to
Too busy reading the notes before they even speak to you
I had to ask them to remove notes which appeared on a screen I could see, asked a friend what the terminology meant and she was horrified, at the top of the notes I was being called "Histrionic" right there, at the top and I could see it on a screen - yes I did complain
Trust is waning with all of it tbh

Our lovely family doctor of yesteryear was terrifying and traumatised the whole
family. I can still see his cold eyes peering over those half-moon glasses at us. The system is much better now and I wish people would stop complaining.

LaCrepescule

Our lovely family doctor of yesteryear was terrifying and traumatised the whole
family. I can still see his cold eyes peering over those half-moon glasses at us. The system is much better now and I wish people would stop complaining.

But 'the system' varies so much, depending on your postcode.

To get an appt I have to start phoning at 8 a.m. but even starting a minute before, I find I am number ?? on the list! Hard to get an appt for that day. The lady Dr I try to see is wonderful - comes out to the waiting area to call you in, lovely smile, chatty, nice to see you, 'what can I do for you?'. Doesn't rush and listens to what seems to be the problem. She does only work 3 days a week in the surgery, but does other NHS work the rest of the time. We do get a large number of locums.

WithNobsOnIt

My GP Practice has 25,000 patients..
I have been with them for nearly 40 years.

I found the two older Doctors,now left or retired. to be rude and arrogant and just in medicine to advance their careers in Primary Care.

I am still sorting out two medical conditions that were misdiagnosed or ignored by them over twenty years ago

They were rude and arrogant and patients were just treated as research fodder to advance their careers in medicine, medical education and Primary Care.

The female Doctor was very well in with being a Consultant to NICE and post COVID Research. She also received an OBE a couple of years ago.

The other is now a Regional Director of a National well known medical organisation.

Another other Senior Doctor did not send off several.referal.letters and it has taken me over two years to sort out this oversight and get appointments.

My medical Practice now has a lot of female Salaried GP's who are much better than the old brigade. More caring and down to earth and not full of themselves.

That is.my experience

I wonder if we're in the same area as I read my practice has 25,000 patients?

MissAdventure

Its roughly an eight week wait to see our nice new gp.
Not ideal.

Gosh no! Miss A, that is far from ideal!

I mean, if you have symptoms that you think can wait for 8 weeks before being decoded - but that's a gamble.

Our surgery has solved that problem by removing the option to actually make a future appointment - the patient can no longer request one. Every request has to be filtered through either the 8am telephone-call lottery, or 'Anima' the online version of the phone call. As that is the only portal to the surgery, the traffic flow is huge and soon reaches the point of maximum capacity.

The end result is that patients with urgent conditions or who have worrying symptoms are having to compete unintentionally with those who could wait for a couple of weeks.

At the risk of being labelled as a complainer, I'd say this is not an ideal system.

I used Anima last time i needed help (i wasn't even sure what help I needed)

Luckily it got me through to an appointment with the practice nurse, who, when she'd finished with me, went to see nice gp, and he fitted me onto his list.

MissAdventure

I used Anima last time i needed help (i wasn't even sure what help I needed)

Luckily it got me through to an appointment with the practice nurse, who, when she'd finished with me, went to see nice gp, and he fitted me onto his list.

I think Anima is actually designed to identify the help you might need. From that aspect, it's a jolly good system.

I've only used it once (my internet connection in the morning can be quite glitchy) but if I remember correctly, it asks you questions that are, presumably, 'red-flags' to a GP. From your descriptions of your symptoms, the GP can work out the help you might need.

... and in your case obviously did

I didn't even know exactly what it was when i filled it out.
I'd vaguely heard of Anima, but had no idea where the info went, or if it was a virtual assistant that was going to try and pack me off to a and e.
It goes directly to the gp, then?