A long post, I fear, but I have tried to address, explain and counter some of the comments within this thread…
I understand that there are poorly managed surgeries but some of your comments are really beyond the pale.
Yes, you are frustrated that you can't get through to your surgery when you want to (as I have been on one occasion) . Yes, some Receptionists are brusque. Yes, there are new systems in place, many of which you wish were not there but have you honestly stopped to work out why much of this is happening?
The whole idea of keeping waiting rooms free of as many patients as possible in the middle of a pandemic is to stop cross infection. Few people seem to realise this. Empty waiting rooms do not equate to GPs not working or seeing patients who really need to be seen.
The OP's 'lady with the trolley': yes, it would have been lovely if she could have been attended to whilst in the surgery and common sense dictates that this should have happened however, if she was attended to in this way, the word would spread and all the carefully laid out plan of patient management would be useless as everyone would wish to walk in and book an appointment – in a pandemic.
Yes, I of course I agree that patients have a right to be seen but it may be a surprise for many of you to know that not all patients need to be seen face to face – particularly in the middle of a pandemic. Many patients also prefer a telephone consultation.
Writing personally, my surgery has a pro forma online which should be completed and sent off electronically. This form is triaged - by a doctor and prioritised. Again, personally, I have had two incidents where I was contacted - by telephone, by the surgery just five minutes after sending in the form. It was judged necessary by whoever undertook the triages. If my health issue had not needed prompt treatment, I would have been contacted but not so quickly. This, too, has been the case and I was happy to wait my turn, knowing that sicker patients were receiving preferential calls or, being called into the surgery, which is what happens if a doctor feels it to be necessary.
I have written similar sentences before but, if you are in the older age-group, you may recall that seeing a doctor was something that was done almost in extremis. As a sick child, my parents hesitated about 'bothering the doctor' whereas now, many - not all, obviously - patients feel they have an entitlement to speak to a doctor, no matter the depth of their concern. A concern that could easily be addressed by a chemist or even 111 in many instances.
The Neil Kinnock speech from Alegrias1 actually rings true. There has been not enough funding into the NHS from successive governments (particularly into GP services) whatever their hue. We have an ageing population who are living longer (thank goodness!) but who then have more and many complex conditions. The NHS actually runs on goodwill. If your GP did not work extremely long hours or your hospital nurses didn't complain about staying on for extra hours, the NHS would collapse completely. We will have to pay more. More taxes, more NHI contributions, more VAT.
Your GP went into general practice because they liked the interface with people, their patients. They are not hiding away. Surely common sense dictates that a GP is not sitting with feet up, scrolling through Facebook sipping a cappuccino instead of seeing patients?
I cannot comment on poorly run surgeries where it is difficult for patients to actually get through to the surgery but if yours is like this, please consider trying to change them! Contact the Practice Manager, join the Patients' Association (all surgeries should have them and if they don't, start one!). Ask if there is anything that you could do to try and help them.
I know I ramble on but with a daughter in the profession I am sick of time and time again, the newspapers and media obtaining cheap copy on the topic of how little GPs are doing. Most GPs work long hours; in my daughter's case, around 65 a week: she sometimes doesn’t even get to the loo all day, let alone eat lunch! There are also all the texts and calls received when actually at home so she never has time to sit and relax (there were over 450 texts waiting for her input the last time we met) and calls from other professionals regarding, for example, patients with mental health concerns, so a GP can rarely switch off. Time with them means a mobile coming out and messages being responded to. Many weekends are worked throughout the year plus meetings and committees to attend, Covid hubs to be set up, extra inoculations given. Where do you think the time comes from for individuals to actually undertake all this extra work? Where?
There are not enough GPs.
As there has not been the investment in the NHS and GP training, numbers of GPs have been reducing as many are not able to undertake the constant day-to-day stress and retire a few years earlier than they might otherwise have done. The campaigns by a few newspapers are helping the dearth of experienced GPs. Incidentally, training length is reducing too for undergraduate medical degrees (it was 11 years to become a fully-trained GP, now 10). Undergraduate medical degrees used to take five years but now four. I have no idea how efficient this is but personally I would rather they had five!
Hobbs1,are you aware that the minimum salary of a GP is £62,629? Hardly excessive, bearing in mind that lorry drivers are allegedly being offered £75,000 at the moment and law graduates can begin on £107,500. I give these figures to show that GPs are not on the hugely inflated sums that have taken root in the public's imagination. £200,000?! I wish! The press have whipped the public up into GP-bashing and quite honestly, the BMA have done little to counter it.
Did you know that the USA spends twice per capita as we do in the UK but their health outcomes are no better - many are even worse and of course, if you have no insurance you will not be seen as we are here.
We are indeed sleepwalking into privitisation of the NHS. Madashel is correct. Companies which run US private hospitals would love a contract to run our NHS hospitals and in some instances, savings could be made with regard to organisation but do you think the end result would be for our benefit, or theirs…?
Please try to stop GP-bashing. There is a reason things are as they are and it is not the fault of your GP.
