"A tragic death due to over demand and under capacity"

I just thought "Gosh! how prejudiced!" when I read those sweeping statements.

Ethel, I agree completely with anno. My GP is public school educated, well spoken and the most popular gp in the practice! His speciality is substance abuse and he volunteers for a couple of charities on top of the long hours he puts in!

My GP is German and he is very pleasant, always does his very best to help me. It is the jobsworth on reception that annoys me and having to go to another part of the health centre to have blood taken which involves another appointment, nothing ever gets done the same day.
I do not understand why an ambulance wasn't called, the woman was clearly very ill.

An eye appointment covers more than a sight test. The pressure inside the eyeball is tested (glaucoma) the retina is inspected with a lens and powerful light, and a photograph taken of the blood supply to the retina. You are asked questions about medication and any eye problems you have been experiencing.

Other things can surface during the test. I know someone who was experiencing problems with his vision. He went to the opticians for new glasses, and was sent straight to the eye hospital, where tests showed a small tumour on the optic nerve. Fortunately not malignant, and could be treated with radiotherapy.

Well, etheltbags, what a lot of sweeping statements. Not all doctors are middle class, though they may, by occupation, be classified as such. Yes, some are affluent, but when did affluence become a barrier to compassion? Not necessarily. Doctors all have middle class accents? My GP has a County Antrim accent which he doesn't attempt to hide behind an assumed RP accent, despite having received his medical education and training on this side of the Irish Sea.
So what if some - maybe most - doctors have been born into the middle class? They didn't make this choice!

obvi meant 'for everyone' . Eye care used to mean more than eye tests. Under 18 and over 60 leaves out how many, Ana? Hey Rose- never say never!

I've met some amazing, caring and compassionate doctors in my time. My dear uncle recently passed away, and from his diagnosis of oesophageal cancer a year ago, to his death last month, he was treated with kindness and respect from his medical team. The systems and processes were sadly lacking in parts, mind you!

doctors just cant relate to ordinary people no matter how they try, they have better lives, more money and this makes it hard to relate to ordinary people. They should try working a zero hour contract/living on a sink estate, for a period of time during their training so they can relate to ordinary people. Most doctors are middle class and have the bank of mummy and daddy to rely on and they do their training not knowing what its like to struggle not just financially but struggle to understand the minds of uneducated people, people who cant communicate well/have little confidence and don't want to bother the doctor.
Ive never met a doctor yet without a middle class accent.

Eye tests are also free if you have a close relative suffering from something like glaucoma. I know this because I have such a close relative and I get a free eye test every year because of that.

And dental treatment for anyone under 18 is free.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'free dental care, free eye care, free prescriptions, etc all gone' amarmai. Certainly prescriptions are free in Wales and Scotland, and I thought that eye tests were free for anyone over 60 throughout the UK.

The article doesn't say that the woman's husband found her in a coma but did not call an ambulance. On the contrary, I assume that is how she was admitted, the day after she took to her bed. Perhaps the dad did talk to his son at that point, we don't know from the article.

The GP who wrote this doesn't simply blame the NHS - he says he was let down by the professional leaders and academics, the government, but also a community of Britons. In other words he blames the system.

I think the point he is making is that of over-demand and under capacity in primary care. We certainly see that in the huge practice (15,000 patients on the list) that we attend.

I have had to learn to say that I need an emergency appointment, even when I don't consider it as such, to get an appointment when I don't want to wait weeks.

Whereas the ones on my list?

I know i could make good use of the items on my list , rose!

I am just remembering our GPs from my childhood, three in the practice, weekend working, home visits, night visits, calling to see patients in hospital (I still remember a visit when I was in hospital even though I was only 6 at the time).

How on earth did they do it all without burnout?

Tattoo removal, gastric bands, plastic surgery for people who want larger breasts for their self-esteem etc etc - all in

I agree with Elothan and Thatbags. it seems to me that his bad conscience is talking. Shocking that a father cannot talk to a son who is a doctor and ask for help to take control of the situation. We did that for our parents and we are not doctors.

Free dental care, free eye care, free prescriptions, etc all gone

Free dental care, free eye care, free prescriptions, etc all gone.

When I had labyrinthitis, and couldn't move without vomiting, I had no problem getting a doctor to call on me. Perhaps this is another postcode issue. A triage nurse can pass on a patient to a doctor if she isn't in a position to diagnose and/or prescribe. In this case, the writer's parents are of my generation - in fact, his mother was younger than I am. They grew up under the NHS. It was their - and my - parents' generation that was reluctant to 'bother the doctor'. I feel that he 'doth protest too much'.

on this occasion

I agree with Eloethan. I don't think the NHS can be blamed on this.

Harrigran that is diabolical!

I agree with eloethan and thatbags too.

The NHS set up at the end of the 2nd WW has been systematically dismantled by every succeeding gov, so what is left is increasingly unable to carry out their mandate
armamai that is a very sweeping statement, and I would dispute it. The NHS was set up in 1948 to bring good healthcare to all; some of the demands on it nowadays would astonish those who had that vision all those years ago.

I agree with you eloethan and bags.
I am sure the writer's grievances with the system in which he works may well be justified, but to peg his article on his mother's death seems a cheap shot and to me devalues the article.
And I am sure that there are some middle-class people, and even possibly some upper-class ones, who are just as reluctant to 'bother the GP' as his mother was.

"They "didn't want to bother the GP". Why ever not?"

The first time I went to A&E with my arrhythmia the consultant in Resus told me off for not calling sooner, I didn't know I'd been at risk of a stroke. Now I'm under instructions to call within 15mins, but then get sniped at for being a "frequent flyer" when I do.