What to GPs actually DO?

when i see tv shows about GPs, they all seem to be outside London, and in large purpose built premises; guess it helps with the filming ?
in London most GPs are in converted dwelling houses, often of Victorian vintage and cramped. many since 1948.
most docs are upstairs and people who cannot manage stairs are told off for not declaring this when booking appt, as doc has to come down to nurse's room. patients are often told off.
where i go they do not take bloods, have to go hosp for that.
Gwyneth, i hope your friend is ok; after a week, presume she is elderly, i'd have urged her to ring 111 after hours.

The real problem is a scarcity of GPs it seems. Why, I wonder ,do they make it so very hard to study medicine for young people? Here you have to get an enormously high score to be admitted to medical school to study in the first place. I am not thinking they should let mediocre students in, of course not , but it really is very hard for the young would be doctors. However, if you are an overseas student you can get in quite easily, pay a large sum , train and then return to your country of origin. Something is wrong there. My grandson is a medical student but he had to do a medical science degree before he was accepted to train. All at great cost eventually when he has to start paying back his debt.

My GP told me to make appointment to see him(apparently he’s one that is now doing face to face)appointment given for the next day

nanna8

The real problem is a scarcity of GPs it seems. Why, I wonder ,do they make it so very hard to study medicine for young people? Here you have to get an enormously high score to be admitted to medical school to study in the first place. I am not thinking they should let mediocre students in, of course not , but it really is very hard for the young would be doctors. However, if you are an overseas student you can get in quite easily, pay a large sum , train and then return to your country of origin. Something is wrong there. My grandson is a medical student but he had to do a medical science degree before he was accepted to train. All at great cost eventually when he has to start paying back his debt.

Presumably the final exams and other assessments are just as hard for overseas students as they are for domestic ones. How do you know that the overseas students aren't just as eligible to study in the first place? It's not easy to compare different exams systems. Some overseas student have their fees paid by their governments. It's expensive to train doctors and universities can't just add places without affecting quality. Fees from overseas students in the UK subsidise places for domestic students.

Please remember the receptionists are only carrying out the doctors orders, they do not make the rules, the GPS do. Receptionists are leaving in droves quite often in response to the attitude of patients to them.

I am a medical secretary in a GP practice and have worked in the NHS for around 32 years, not just in a surgery, hospital too and I have never seen it so busy, it’s like fighting a fire. GPS are far from lazy, and their day is frantically busy with phone calls and also face to face.

Of all the professions I think the GPS are the least likely to be ‘lazy’. Especially at the moment. To suggest otherwise is ignorant and offensive.

As I have suggested on another thread covering this topic, there appears to be a deafening silence from the GP’s union, the BMA, and their professional body, the RCGP.

Given the very varied experience of patients during the pandemic, from the excellent to the dire, why are the GP’s representatives not out there, explaining the pressures their members are under?

Thank you for the kind comments from posters re my elderly friend in hospital. I rang the hospital this morning and thankfully she is responding to treatment.
grumppa I think that the BMA, patient representatives and the Health Secretary need to meet sooner rather than later to discuss the situation. Yes the BMA need to clarify the pressures their members are under but they (the BMA ) also need to understand the huge difficulties patients are having in accessing medical care. The Health Secretary needs to listen to both sides and start planning for the future as well as deciding what solutions are possible in the short term.

nanna8

Of all the professions I think the GPS are the least likely to be ‘lazy’. Especially at the moment. To suggest otherwise is ignorant and offensive.

Absolutely nanna8. GPs are not lazy, they work much longer hours than many other people, but a lot of their work is unseen by the patients. This is a fact, not an opinion. There will always be some who don’t pull their weight in every job or profession in the land, but doctors are in the main, dedicated professionals, and care about their patients. With so much Covid still circulating in the country, more face to face appointments would inevitably lead to more GPs getting Covid, even though they are double vaccinated, because face to face appointments require the doctor to sit in a small room with a possibly infected patient, as well as close bodily contact if an examination is required, and there are still a great many unvaccinated people out there. If the doctor gets Covid, guess what, fewer appointments for the patients while the doctor recovers. It’s not rocket science.

I’m glad to hear your friend is responding well to treatment Gwyneth. That is very good news and you must be relieved

Thank you maddyone your concern is much appreciated and yes I am relieved that her situation looks a lot more positive this morning.

I’ve just received an email from Boots saying that from £15 upwards anyone can contact an online Doctor who can give advice on 40 conditions and prescriptions given.

www.boots.com/onlinedoctor

Just to report that On Monday I thought I detected signs of a previous problem, and at 0800 on Tuesday morning I rang my GP practice. I got through after only 10 minutes, and the receptionist promised that a doctor would ring me back during the morning. This he did, and I was in his surgery being examined at 1130. He rang the local hospital while I was there, and by 1230 I was in A&E. Full marks to the GP practice.