Would you Skype your GP?

No gagagran - it still happens nowadays, only the younger generation are less inclined to put up with such treatment - hence a shortage of Drs.

I have just caught up with this thread and think it's a marvellous idea especially for repeat prescription check ups etc. Obviously the GP can ask you to go to the surgery if it is thought important.

I am a bit puzzled by granjura's post about the hours her DH did as a junior GP - 140 hours per week is 20 hours per day over 7 days. Surely not - he would have collapsed from exhaustion. Was it a typing error granjura?

Galen, next time hopefully you could tell her to Skype the GP. Then she wouldn't have to get the grand children ready.

Dgc not Dec.

Darling daughter occasionally skypes me for quick advice about medical problems with Dec. Occasionally it is useful but I normally end up telling her to see the GP. The only help is how urgently?
Ie routine appointment or immediate dash to surgery or A&E

Jinglebells
I also garden.

Gracesgran
Hello, got any dislikes about quick phone conversations.

What is the point in allocating everyone over 75 their own doctor who must see them every time, if it's only going to be a quick, rushed, Skype consultation anyway?

I don't think the named doctor system is supposed to mean that you see them each time you need a doctor Jbf. My mother's named doctor is also her Care Co-ordinator (which means she make an annual visit whether Mum needs it or not ). She works part-time so Mum could not possibly see her every-time there is a problem. We actually tend to have quick phone conversations although she has come out a couple of times after them.

You do sound as though you know an awful lot about it. For a gardener.

Triaged? It's your GP not A&E. What you need is an ambulance.
Also, you would only give the same details you do now to the receptionist plus your Skype contact details.

Jingle, with the set up I've been promoting it's entirely down to you if you want to have a Skype consultation. There is nothing stopping you booking an appointment and physically going to your GP. The GP also might tell you that's exactly what they want and ask you to book an appointment.

My OH loves our GP because he takes two minutes to walk her to the door. I know the figures above are only estimations but it will free up time so your GP might do the same.

For the record, he only does it so it speeds up getting the next patient in but she loves it all the same!

What is the point in allocating everyone over 75 their own doctor who must see them every time, if it's only going to be a quick, rushed, Skype consultation anyway?

I think Skype consultations are the probably the thin end of the wedge. Will the requests be triaged? Will patients have to give details of their problem to some receptionist person? How soon before we are made to feel a nuisance for wanting to see our doctor in person?

Oh for fucks sake granjura! Stop being so bloody patronising and lecturing! I've had enough of it now.

I love this sort of idea. I already have my blood taken at Sainsbury's where the pleasant little room is staffed by a phlebotomist from our local hospital from 7.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. Monday to Friday. If they are busy they will give you a buzzer thing and you can go off and do your shopping; it vibrates when it's your turn. I shall almost certainly have my flu jab at Boots (they do it for the surgery - no charge).

Not everyone can use these services and not everyone can use the Skype idea but it would free up time for those unable to do so. I find it so much better than going to a surgery. If I go for the blood tests it makes me feel that I am seen as being ill and sitting in the surgery for the flu jab seems counter productive.

Ana, I know Shaun and I'm glad to see him show his face. :P
He's a local councillor.

Possible time savings for GP.

Average 12 minute appointment. Figure is best I could find from Google but I’m sure GPs know how off the mark these figures would be in relation to their own circumstances.
12 min / 8 hour day = 40 appointments.
Average of 2 minutes for a patient to get from waiting room to GP office and then leave. Again, best figure I could find.
2 min x 40 appointments = 1 hour 20 minutes.

Average time to call patient using Skype when patient has already been in contact and is waiting on the call: 30 seconds to 1 minute is reasonable but it’s a guess really until run on the actual networks. This is a possible saving of 40 minutes to 1 hour per day if they were all conducted through Skype.

It would certainly save the time spent travelling between home visits, and be better than a phone call in that the patient and doctor are face to face. A rash or an injury could be shown over the phone line, and if the patient has a thermometer in the house, they can take their own temperature and show that too. It is a step up on a conventional phone consultation, and further appointments can be made if necessary.

Worth trying out and testing, I'd say, and reporting the reactions to it from both sides so that other surgeries can find out how it goes.

Golly jingl- they do, they always have...They also have to run a 'business' The Practice, and staff, admin, buildings, etc, etc, etc. Many also teach and mentor younger GPs, and they also have to do insurance reports (the bane of their life- always done at home at week-ends or nights off) and write reports on students and registrars, prepare lessons, mark very complicated essays, have school and industrial appointments, do funeral and incineration paperwork, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Did you really think they would just do the surgery appointments and go home to put their feet up? Even at end of career DH rarely worked less than 70 hours per week- and much much more when younger (up to .... 140- believe me or not).

So doctors have to work from home as well as weekends now then? They'll love that.

Well, if it saves a home visit, than it can save huge amounts of time, especially in rural areas. DH had to visit people a long way from home, and then get back in the car to go in the opposite direction, etc. it would also of course save huge amounts of time for the patient too- again, perhaps even more in rural areas.

Also, if the doctor can do this from home, it would save on having to have reception staff, always 2 minimum for security reasons- and also heating, electricity, etc. If the surgery is open, it means the most of the place being lit, for security reasons, for example.

How much time or money would it save? I can see it might be easier for the patient, but the doctor would still need to give the patient the same amount of time during the consultation.

Ooh, another new member in support of this idea! How nice... and highly suspect

Great idea I totally agree in this day and age why not use Skype it's worth working with the trialed bodies and expand it . Appointment waiting times are ridiculously long why should we wait 4 weeks I will agree with the idea

Like telephone consultations I think it would be most use for people who were already being treated for diagnosed conditions. Most of the time you don't need to see the doctor in person for a tweak of your medication or a question about a minor symptom or side effect.

This a freebie that could really do some good. That's a rare opportunity and has to be made the most of. Getting it done with what you've got. Surely you can appreciate that.