A doctor question

The pharmacist will tell you whether or not your the medicine you need is as prescribed or not.

The pharmacist cannot diagnose.

Daddima
My daughter is a GP so I know the answer to your question. GPs are working as usual, and so if you have a problem, you ring your surgery as usual. They will either give you
a) a telephone appointment
b) a video consultation
c) an appointment at the surgery, but when you see the doctor they will probably be wearing PPE (just in case you’re Covid19 positive but not showing symptoms)
Hope that helps.

A friend’s daughter recently had a really bad sore throat. They contacted the GP and sent photos of her throat and the GP prescribed an antibiotic to be collected direct from the pharmacy.

Thank you all. As I said, I don’t need a doctor, and would ring the surgery if I did, but I was just wondering.

My husband has had two telephone appointments with the GP recently and then collected a prescription from Boots.
Very efficient service.

You do not have to go to your surgery to get antibiotics. That would be silly.

Ring your gp!

If your gp thinks you need them by having a talk to you on the phone, and maybe looking a photos you send, a prescription can be sent to pharmacy. He/she might want to see you but will avoid it if at all possible.

If they do want to see you, it will probably be 'out of hours'.

I know of people this has happened to.

In my area the doctors are continuing their usual practice of triage. I spoke to a local GP yesterday who was concerned that fewer people than usual are asking for appointments or calling for advice. If people do contact their GP in the usual way Daddima I'm sure they will be dealt with appropriately.

Daddima DD had a medical problem as the doors locked. It needed urgent treatment.

She rang 111, they agreed that she needed urgent treatment, so she was sent directly to an out hours clinic. The doctor there examined her agreed on the urgent need for treatment and the need to find the cause of the problem, so referred her for tests. She was then referred to a telephone discussion with her GP, who agreed with the tests and in the meanwhile sent a prescription through to the pharmacist she used, which she collected.

The drugs have worked, so the tests are less urgent, but are still needed in case there is an underlying cause that needs treating. She is hoping that the worse of the Covid is over before she reaches the top of the list as she doesn't want to risk getting it by going to a hospital.

Dadd you need to go onto your surgery’s website to find out what they are doing. My understanding is that the majority of surgeries are offering online triage which can the be followed by a return phone call from a doctor if appropriate and maybe a video consultation. Both my dh and myself have had telephone follow up calls ( one with GP and one with PN) to resolve certain matters successfully. They have redesigned their website to help direct you into the appropriate area.

Yes, you phone your surgery. Unfortunately, they still work by the same old rules. You'd have to see a GP, in person, to get a new prescription. Some of us would rather not do that, unless it's absolutely essential!

Just phone your surgery. Normally a doctor will ring you back and a prescription, if necessary is sent to a pharmacy.

Hot hubs have been set up, so that those who really need to see a doctor can be seen. Otherwise you ring 111 and press the relevant numbers when asked.

Phone your surgery.