Why flu to GP?

Can’t understand it either Baggs plus the one time I had ‘flu I could get out of bed let alone struggle to the GP.

Couldn’t get out of bed..

Because some people are selfish and are only interested in themselves and are not concerned if they give anyone else the flu etc, sneezing, coughing without covering their face. I'm keeping away from the doctors. I realise with some conditions you have to visit your GP but I think there should be a charge say £10 and that would get rid of time wasters.

I was going to start this thread baggs. Why indeed!!

There are obviously people who do need a doctor but not that many.

Baffling and selfish!

I think there's a massive culture of "going to the GP" in the UK - I (foolishly) volunteered to be on the Patient Participation Group of our local practice (I resigned after a year). I was amazed at how much people are wrapped up in what goes on at their GP practice.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that even on these forums, "go to the GP" is often one of the first suggestions that come up...

Whoa there ninny A charge of £10 may also prevent some people getting vital treatment

I'm sure some people are there with flu or a heavy cold, not quite believing the advice they have been given, and there will always be people who want to fuss. But:

1. You can only self certificate for illness for 1 week (I believe that's still the case). A serious bout of flu may last 2-3 weeks, and means you need a 'doctor's note' for work / sick pay.
2. Some employers actually demand a note for shorter periods, and notes are sometimes needed for other agencies such as schools, courts, social services etc.
3. Anyone with a pre-existing condition may need to have their medication or other treatment modified.
4. 'Just flu' can lead to other conditions, so patients may be there with other symptoms.

Maybe people are scared of how ill they are feeling and need reasurrance and a quick check over that they havent got a chest infectionbrewing.

I feel sorry for the GP's and staff having to put themselves at risk of catching all sorts working in that enviroment.

Totally agree Baggs
There is nothing a GP can do, we just have to take the paracetamol, keep the fluids up , stay indoors (bed or armchair) and leave the doctors free for those with aggravated complaints like asthma, bronchitis or pneumonia.
There is a culture these days of seeing the doctor for the slightest thing (and if it’s the w/e of course, hitting A&E) so of course the appointments system breaks down makimg it impossible for those who really need help to get it. Perhaps better triage at the point of booking - a nurse rather than a receptionist might help, but we do need to take more responsibility for our own health.

and leave the doctors free for those with aggravated complaints like asthma, bronchitis or pneumonia.
Trouble is it can be difficult for the layman to self-diagnose these conditions. When I had a severe attack of the virus over New Year, I was finding it difficult to breathe and my coughing was so violent that my whole rib cage felt sore. So yes, I saw a nurse practitioner via our 'urgent care' system for fear that I had a chest infection and would need antibiotics. Luckily no, but I was prescribed ventolin to help my breathing - I have no history of asthma, so was not able to determine that this was the problem.

I think sometimes its hard to believe its 'just' a virus when the symptoms get frightening.
I thought I may need an appt when I was poorly because I was having trouble breathing at times. Having said that, I can't understand people who rush off to the doctors, and I avoid it as much as possible.

Flu can kill if it develops into pneumonia. DH didn't have flu. but he had the coughing virus. He coughed night and day for 10 days, he wasn't sleeping, eating or talking, his throat was so raw and he was exhausted from endless coughing.

Yes, by day 7, I was thinking about seeking medical help. The reason I didn't? Firstly he had a routine medical appointment booked for the second week of January. We have also been warned to allow an extra 2 hours for travel to our local A&E, one hour for the road works nearby and one hour to find a parking place. That would mean 2 1/2 hour journey to hospital plus 5 hours waiting to be seen. I decided he was too ill to be expected to cope with that.

Fortunately we had planned to go to our house in France for a few days, so we went as planned. We had a cabin booked on the ferry and only a short drive both ends. I had decided that, if he had to go to A&E, I would prefer to do it in France because queues would be shorter and treatment more humane.

In fact we managed without medical intervention, but I do understand why many people sought it.

I know so many people who go to the doctors for any mild problem, when they really don't need to. Although charges are quite a shocking idea for the NHS, they might make people think twice, no doubt pharmacists would then be inundated instead.

Some people of course really need to be seen. Older people with a weak chest etc.

Personally I avoid the surgery if possible, just think of all those germs floating around. I go for a repeat prescription and always wait in the outer lobby!

For people with a cough, don't forget the value of postural drainage to help the mucus up. Lie face down with your upper body sloping downwards and breath deeply to encourage coughing (could take one of those expectorant cough medicines half an hour before). And if you have someone who can help get them to thump your back to loosen the mucus. If you get ahead on the chest clearance it can give you a few hours peace from coughing before it builds up again.

The main reason is because they need a sick note for their employer. Self-certification does not last long enough for a true bout of flu and doctors really shouldn't give you a certificate without without seeing you.

I was almost shouting at the news last night but complained to DH instead. Big news that people with 'flu like symptoms' were going to the doctors. Well if they really had 'flu they wouldn't be able to. I felt that the emphasis of the story was wrong and that it would have been more helpful to the NHS to explain when to take your 'flu like symptoms' to the doctor and when to deal with it yourself.

I sometimes wonder with all the media attention whether people are being encouraged to go to the GP and A & E.

In September I developed a cough which would not go away but did go through various stages. I didn't go to the doc because I could feel the progression. I had an appointment for something else in December and mentioned it then and he checked my lungs and they were fine. I would not have gone just for the cough despite it being really bad for about a month. It has finally gone now. A local friend developed a cough (possibly caught from me) and went straight to the GP to confirm it wasn't serious.

My grandsons dad would often phone my daughter, shouting that she needed to take him to the doctors because he had a cough or cold. He just couldn't understand that her doctor wouldn't prescribe anything.

We have often thought that a fee might deter some time wasters. And what about people who book an appointment because they ‘might’ need it then don’t bother to cancel when they feel better?

I have been unwell since christmas, but have not wanted to bother the doctor and keep hopi ng the coughing sore throat cold, sneezing etc will heal itself, but....its nearly 4 weeks and i still feel dreadful.
If i dont start feeling better over the weekend may have to try and see a doctor next week.
Am still in bed the sun is shining and i am feeling fed up so have just cleaned my teeth, which helps.

Side point here to M0nica: sounds like you're talking about the JR in Oxford. Just to let you know the road works have been postponed, the council haven't announced a new start date yet.

Back to OP - surely if you do have actual fluy, you are too unwell to go to the GP?! As other posters have said, their advice would be the usual rest/fluids/paracetamol anyway, and if symptoms worsen significantly, surely better to call an ambulance.

How do people get on who need a medical certificate, I wonder? What's the best option in that case?

NonnaW, a fee would mean only people with money can clog up the waiting rooms unnecessarily. After all if someone believes they need medical care they're not going to risk their health for the sake of a few quid... unless they don't have a few quid in which case they won't go even if they really did need help. And as for your second point, that might not happen if appointments were not so hard to get. I don't know why GPs don't go back to the old system, they opened each morning, and those who were sick on the day simply walked in and got seen. In those days no one ever booked an unnecessary appointment or failed to turn up. Maybe it's the whole appointment system that needs rethinking not the patients' behaviour.

Think you might be right Ready but these days everything has to be instant, although on second thoughts that would put off people who were not really ill!

Ready I agree with much of what you posted. My husband went to the GPs with a minor symptom but a sort of ‘that’s odd’ feeling. It was cancer and was therefore diagnosed very early and treated successfully and therefore cost the NHS much less than a later diagnosis would have. A fee wouldn’t have stopped us but it’s just simply not fair is it? And being wrong when you go in good faith shouldn’t lead to criticism. As for getting an appointment - some people with chronic conditions need regular GP appointments but are not ‘ill’ on the day and given issues about work etc need to be able to book in advance. Whenever this topic is on GN there are examples of very different appointment systems across the spectrum - what I wish is that best practice became a requirement but I also think people should stop expecting to always see ‘their’ doctor.