Creeping Privatisation of our NHS?

I think my doctor operates a ‘grab them and stab them’ system ? Go anywhere near the surgery in the autumn and you get asked if you have had your flu jab, if not then you get it there and then.

Going back to privatising the NHS, I have to have an echocardiogram which was authorised by a consultant at the regional hospital. It is being carried out in our local hospital by a private company. I dread to think what the NHS is paying them.

Thank you for that info Candelle. I always get my flu jab at my GP surgery but have noticed fir a couple of years that I’ve had text messages from my local Lloyds Pharmacy offering a “free” jab. I’ve no intention of getting it done there and I feel slightly irritated at them for touting for business against the GP surgery. There will of course be people who will find it more convenient to get it done on a drop in basis at the pharmacy. Rather than making an appointment at the surgery. I bet most of them don’t know the ramifications regarding funding. I didn’t until your post so thank you again.
I’d rather like to post your info on our local Facebook page but not sure if it’s allowed.

I got a text from my GP asking if I would like to have my covid vaccine booster when I have my flu jab or have them apart. I said both together please. Ive always had my flu jab at my GPs and never had any after effects but I did have it done once in Boots and felt quite rough for a couple of days after.

Two years ago, despite me contacting the surgery several times, we received no letter until November. I phoned up again and was told all appointments and flu vax had gone. ?‍♀️

We paid for jabs in Boots. At least I got points on my Boots card.

In the late summer before Covid I tried to book a flu vaccine with GP for the autumn. The earliest appointment was in December! As I have restricted lung capacity and have had pneumonia I tried Boots and had an appointment in early October. Maybe GPS need to train more people to carry out the vaccinations - we’ve seen recently that millions can be vaccinated when necessary! Perhaps GPs could get together locally and run a vaccination centre to include catching up all those childhood jabs which I understand have got behind because of Covid.

I've had all bar one of my flu injections since being diagnosed with Diabetes (about 8/9 years ago now) in the chemists - it is easier and quicker to get to them than have an appointment at the surgery, and free for me as well. One year the appointment in the surgery was about 3 months from when contacted - that would have been well into the flu season, so called the chemist and got one about a month later. It is usually my local Lloyds but I have been to Boots as well especially the first one (when my locum doctor "didn't do injections" even though the appointment was specifically for the jab made by my own doctor - complete waste of my time that was)

I must say I prefer going to my local pharmacy

I can choose when I go - no waiting around and brilliant service

Aepgirl the Tories have been in power for 11 years. Don’t be ridiculous.

To be honest after trying all year to see a doctor face to face (finally succeeded this week after refusing to leave the surgery until I got one), I would head straight to the pharmacy now. My surgery was excellent until the pandemic but it is now almost impossible to see a doctor. I would always have supported gp’s over pharmacies but sadly I think gp’s now are also financially influenced. Very sad.

I thought most doctors had emigrated, it would be easier to see the Queen. I often pass my doctors surgery and see elderly patients standing in the rain waiting to see either a nurse or doctor, getting past the receptionist is almost impossible too.

Something else we. An blame that champagne socialist Blair for. What a hypocrite the man is.

Unlike most GN’s posting I got an appointment very easily yesterday & with one of my preferred doctors. I had a problem that needed to be face to face & was given an appointment. Afterwards saw a notice regarding booking for Flu jabs in October. Easily done so will be getting mine at the Surgery on a Saturday in October. All this from a Surgery that is in a Village always considered one of the most deprived in the country! I think despite others opinions of our village we are a lot better off than many others as we try to help ourselves not just think everything should be done for us. Good Community helps even at Surgeries!

Regarding privatisation of the NHS, the only way to stop this is to make sure you vote for Labour councillors and MPs. I’m on a basic pension and last week had to pay for Chiropody and ear syringing (£80) in total which used to be NHS.

greenlady102 I cannot comment on the internal accounting of GP practices but isn’t the thrust of the OP’s argument that by having your flu vaccination at Lloyds or Boots, the money is going to overseas corporations and not into the NHS.

I don’t accept the OP's argument that vaccine will be wasted. Practices will know how many jabs they have delivered in past years, know the age profile of their patient list and order accordingly.

My argument - see long post above - is that GP practices already deliver 80% of flu vaccinations and question NHS staffing capacity to deliver 100%.

Flu vaccination is now recommended for people age 50 and over, some 17 million people in the UK.

At a time when practices are stretched to capacity and patients are still struggling to access services for other aspects of health care, using pharmacies to deliver 20% of flu vaccinations seems the sensible option. It’s no different to private hospitals carrying out relatively minor day surgery for NHS patients and being paid for the service.

It spreads the load in a system which will never have capacity to treat everyone in a timely fashion unless there are fundamental changes in the way the NHS is managed, funded and staffed and that needs a political sea change.

My GP still offers the nurse-led annual Well Woman thing. I had mine last month.

Just to add my own thoughts. I used to have a ‘well woman’ check offered regularly by my GP surgery; it was obviously nurse led. In the last few years this has ceased to be offered yearly (before Covid) due to ‘surgery pressures’. As I am very concerned about blood pressure and cholesterol levels, my parents having extremely high levels in both and my father having died from vascular dementia, I like to monitor my levels regularly. I have this done at my local Lloyds pharmacy and am happy to pay; luckily I can afford it at present, it is by ni means expensive. I am concerned that it is no longer offered as a matter of course, especially to patients such as myself with such a strong family history. I am happy to pay if it means that other people can receive it at the surgery for ‘free’ but fear this is not the case. The same could be said for testing/screening for other illnesses such as the female cancers (again common in my family). My son, who is a physiotherapist and my niece who is a modern matron, both agree that the NHS should move away from its current model of illness based care and focus more on the advances in preventative medicine which could save millions of lives and perhaps billions of pounds in the long run. Early detection of potential problems is essential and we are really not very good at it compared to other countries with similarly developed healthcare systems. Privatised? If you can afford private care, I would say go for it. I see the NHS falling further and further behind without radical investment and reform and even the nation being prepared to increase their contribution a little and /or pay privately if they are able. I know this is an unpopular view but the idea of ‘cradle to grave’ is one that I feel is becoming more and more outmoded and in any case we are ultimately all responsible, to a lesser or smaller degree, for our own health.

'....my daughter is an ordinary GP (in her surgery or at NHS meetings 7am to 9 pm four days a week, on her computer or on the phone at home the other three days)...'

Surely this is hyperbole??!
My sister is a GP......

Maybe I will continue to use Asda or Boots and would even if I had to pay. Last Flu jab at GP surgery was given in the outside porch covered in spider webs. My partner had his and I refused and went to Asda, professionally done and even insisted you wait afterwards for safety.
I am also not buying this 'busy GP' nonsense. The only thing mine is busy with is avoiding patients.

Our GPs surgery did not contact us for the flu jab (despite a letter from the NHS saying we should have been contacted), we had to contact them. Presumably this year will be the same.

Pharmacies and GP's get the same amunt per jab. GP's are not part of the NHS, they are contractors and they do what they like with the extra money they get for doing flu jabs. I am amazed that the OP is not better informed given that she says that her daughter is a GP.

try getting an appointment now?

Calandergirl as I mentioned up thread, there was one year when the vaccines were in short supply and I couldn’t get one at my GP Practice. I kept ringing, but they were having trouble getting them. I wasn’t old enough to get an NHS vaccine at that time, but I qualified because I have moderately bad asthma. As I said, my daughter is a GP and they had vaccines, so she brought one home and vaccinated me. I do realise that isn’t a solution for everyone. However, with the Covid situation, I don’t think there’ll be a vaccination shortage as the government (like last year) will want to vaccinate more rather than fewer people and will order sufficient vaccines. They’ll probably advise everyone over fifty to get one as they did last year.

I take your point Casdon, it could cause difficulties in getting everyone through. But even if I was to get my flu jab earlier, I would still go to my GP. The GP I went to previously did flu clinics every Saturday morning for about a month, usually October, and they were extremely efficient, masses of people getting their vaccinations. However under Covid I don’t think the way they were run would be appropriate. In any case, I changed GP about five years ago and they did flu clinics too, but somewhat less efficient as they only had one nurse vaccinating, so caused quite a long wait. Last year, with Covid we could make our appointment any time at all, and go to the practice to see the nurse who vaccinated us. No problems, it took slightly longer as even my husband was not allowed in at the same time as me. I went in, when I came out, he went in. We had our vaccinations during half term (end of October) which I remember as we had one of our grandchildren with us. He couldn’t go in anyway, so the system suited us, just took a bit longer.

What about when they run out of vaccines maddyone which seems to happen? As someone mentioned upthread, if there’s a shortage later on, it might be rather late when you finally get your vaccine.
I prefer to have mine ASAP, when they at least have some.