GPs to be paid £55 for diagnosing Dementia
- Thread starter Freakbro
- Start date
I don't think I know a GP that isn't comfortable.
My mates brother is one (29) and his wife (28) and they are not skimping on life.
But back to the OP. What a travesty. If they can't do their job right they shouldn't be GPs.
Cash incentive for doing your job? It's called a wage.
They will be askign obscure questions know.
'Sir, do you know what you did on April 14th 1972'
'Erm... no, I can't remember'
'DEMENTIA'
My mates brother is one (29) and his wife (28) and they are not skimping on life.
But back to the OP. What a travesty. If they can't do their job right they shouldn't be GPs.
Cash incentive for doing your job? It's called a wage.
They will be askign obscure questions know.
'Sir, do you know what you did on April 14th 1972'
'Erm... no, I can't remember'
'DEMENTIA'
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Permabanned
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Sure, raising awareness of dementia is an important thing, but these doctors should be doing all they can already.
They certainly don't need the extra money.
They certainly don't need the extra money.
Man of Honour
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Considering the amount of training required to become a doctor, do you really think £55-£80k is overpaid? I think it's perfectly fair tbh. That said, I don't think incentives for particular diagnosis is helpful.
Not particularly, as long as they are decent at their job - which going by the anecdotal evidence I hear about all the time, many aren't.
I wasn't making a comment on the amount, just trying to bring some facts about pay into the debate, as omnomnom mentioned, rather than the glib "they get paid too much" "no they don't" banter
What's wrong with someone being "comfortable" ?
People are very bitter when they see others who are better off and automatically think they don't deserve it.
Soldato
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A bloke on the radio this morning made a good point which was that given that dementia is a disease with no cure and cathcing it early does nothing to stop it happening, isn't it better (for many people) that they are left in ignorant bliss for longer rather than knowing at the earliest possible stage?
Diagnosing it years before any serious affects happen can lead to depression and in some cases suicide.
Diagnosing it years before any serious affects happen can lead to depression and in some cases suicide.
Presumably dementia is often skipped past and not diagnosed early. The incentive of £55 is supposed to make doctors more inclined to run tests on potential dementia patients before they develop which can help reduce long term cost to the tax payer. (Ie. Early treatment, no OAP's driving the wrong way down the motorway etc.)
HOWEVER
What they seem to be missing is the very reasons GP's are reluctant to test so much these days.
The NHS is horrendously underfunded and understaffed with increasing number of malingerers taking up GP time. If they used the money to hire enough GP's for everyone it would be of greater benefit all round.
HOWEVER
What they seem to be missing is the very reasons GP's are reluctant to test so much these days.
The NHS is horrendously underfunded and understaffed with increasing number of malingerers taking up GP time. If they used the money to hire enough GP's for everyone it would be of greater benefit all round.
The notion of a GP needs to be overhauled into the information era. We're no longer reliant on someone who needs on the spot encyclopaedic knowledge with the vast amount of instant information available. But what about the other side of the coin? No one cares about underpaid researchers who ultimately feed everything to the medical industry just for a GP to simply prescribe to a patient. All the public sees is they turn up, see a doctor and get drugs. It's the end of the world if they turn up and there's no doctor, but if there's no researcher then no one cares - because they don't see it.
The role is now increasingly just a middle man role between the end user and the developer - so the pay and training required should match.
Nice conclusion there.
Where did I say there I had a problem with someone being comfortable?
Where did I say they didn't deserve it?
My statement was just highlighting how well GP's are paid. From my experience.
Wind your neck in.
1. GPs should be paid well. They serve a very important role, and considering that some half-wit in the private sector can get paid handsomely for doing absolutely nothing of note, it only seems fair.
2. What is the actual purpose of an incentive? It implies that some GPs aren't doing their job properly when it comes to diagnosing if that is the problem, in which case, how is throwing money at it in the most literal way going to fix anything? It reeks of stupid carrot-and-stick upper-management policy.
3. Dementia is ****ing terrifying.
4. The money would be better thrown at the support services.
5. What happens with the overzealous GPs who actively try and diagnose something that isn't there? Will that not cost the NHS more in the long run? I guess they're banking on an offset. Financial incentives and healthcare provisions seem like very awkward bed-fellows.
2. What is the actual purpose of an incentive? It implies that some GPs aren't doing their job properly when it comes to diagnosing if that is the problem, in which case, how is throwing money at it in the most literal way going to fix anything? It reeks of stupid carrot-and-stick upper-management policy.
3. Dementia is ****ing terrifying.
4. The money would be better thrown at the support services.
5. What happens with the overzealous GPs who actively try and diagnose something that isn't there? Will that not cost the NHS more in the long run? I guess they're banking on an offset. Financial incentives and healthcare provisions seem like very awkward bed-fellows.
Whilst there is no cure, there are various treatments than can significantly slow down the rate of degradation if caught early enough.
Soldato
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There is no 'early treatment' for dementia, the best you can do is manage it when it starts to kick in hard and affect your life.
I'm not sure causing huge amounts of stress and worrying for lots of people will reduce their costs as I would suspect it will increase cases of depression and stress for lots of people who may have many years of health ahead of them before this horrible disease starts actually affecting their lives.
Of course some people will take the diagnosis and use it to sensibly plan for their futures, there will be many more though who it will affect negatively immediately.
Seems to be a bit of an argument over GP's pay
This is what the NHS says:
However there seems to have been a raise in the 'Super GP' who are paid A LOT more than the above:
Personally I think this is a stupid incentive - get an extra £55 for doing your job essentially. This money should be put back into the NHS to support better services for Dementia (and other) patients.
This is what the NHS says:
However there seems to have been a raise in the 'Super GP' who are paid A LOT more than the above:
Personally I think this is a stupid incentive - get an extra £55 for doing your job essentially. This money should be put back into the NHS to support better services for Dementia (and other) patients.
One could argue that early catching and management is better support than just dealing with those who are already far and obviously advanced.
True, but Dementia is hard to diagnose by its self (iirc) and I'm not sure giving £55 to a GP for finding it early is going to make any difference in that
My Grandma was diagnosed with Parkingson's before Dementia was ever mentioned (although looking back, it was obvious there was more wrong with her than just Parkingson's) and it was another 18 months until her Dementia was 'officially' diagnosed, by which point she had already forgotten who I was and was talking to the dog which died 15 years earlier
Its a horrible HORRIBLE disease and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I would welcome this money - instead of going back to the GP - going back into the research to prevent and cure Dementia or back into the local services, without whom, my Grandma's final years would have been less comfortable for her and a lot more stressful for my Granddad, Mum and Auntie
IMO money is spent better elsewhere. Especially on the care side of things.
Dementia is horrible and my Grandad currently suffers.
The difficulty getting him a home was stupid. This is a guy who served in the army for many years.
He was being cared for at home by us (we paid for a private carer) until this became too dangerous / difficult for her. He was admitted to hospital after going walk abouts one night where he was sectioned. Hospital didn't want him there as he wasn't 'ill' (he didn't need a bed). He wasn't allowed to go home because he was sectioned. The homes we were recommended by the hospital would not take him until we sold his house and could prove that we could fund his care for the foreseable future (even though he had enough money in his bank hence not getting free care).
We eventually found the home he is in now. Took him no problem and do a sterling job despite being obviously under staffed. It only costs us ~£700 a week.
Dementia is horrible and my Grandad currently suffers.
The difficulty getting him a home was stupid. This is a guy who served in the army for many years.
He was being cared for at home by us (we paid for a private carer) until this became too dangerous / difficult for her. He was admitted to hospital after going walk abouts one night where he was sectioned. Hospital didn't want him there as he wasn't 'ill' (he didn't need a bed). He wasn't allowed to go home because he was sectioned. The homes we were recommended by the hospital would not take him until we sold his house and could prove that we could fund his care for the foreseable future (even though he had enough money in his bank hence not getting free care).
We eventually found the home he is in now. Took him no problem and do a sterling job despite being obviously under staffed. It only costs us ~£700 a week.
It sounds like a good way for the government to shunt some pensioners into private care homes and free up some housing, there's already a whole host of private companies leeching off the tax payer with unemployed and prison contracts, why not fatten up a few more cats with pensioners as well?
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