Are local GPs going down hill or are their hands tied ?

[Raggs]

I was quoted 6 weeks recently too see my normal gp if you do get an appointment it's a locum there is no continuity of care anymore , we have nurses doing jobs they are not qualified too do they gave me wrong unsuitable medication, one time she was looking stuff up in books she obviously had not had adequate training.

i knew more about blood pressure meds than she did from just googling.

and the appointment system is farcical appointments get released at 8am the phone lines are chocca, people have taken too waiting outside at 7.30 now rather than phoning up.

 

[peterwalkley]

Sounds very like my GP. Over-subscribed and when I am in there its always full of entitled coffin dodgers hogging the appointments and whinging if they're running 5 minutes late (probably a local thing, same in other places too round here). Where ours does seem better than yours:

- Repeat prescriptions are easy. Drop the form in at chemists, collect a few days later.
- Nurse appointments for on-going treatments usually easy to get (Asthma, blood pressure, diabetes etc). Just don't phone before about 10:30 as its still under the DOS attack describe above.
- They are trying to triage appointments, so you'll get a call back from Doctor or Nurse to discuss in more detail.
- There are out of hours options happening. It used to be 8:30 to 4:30 and tough luck to anyone in a job getting a sensible time.
- They will prioritise child appointments. It was always a very noticeable shift in tone when the girls were younger and we needed to see someone.

 

[BowdonUK]

I think it depends where you live and the quality of the GP surgery.

I can only type about my experiences as a long term disabled person.

I'm not able to get in to the surgery to meet the doctor so if I call up in the morning before surgery starts then its possible to book a home visit. It's a random doctor from the surgery but they usually arrive between 10am and 1pm.

I think for a regular person making an appointment it can take up to 4 weeks.

I agree about the reception staff. Most of them seem to be turning people away or delaying them with appointments or going to see other services if they don't think your condition is serious. The problem is that some of them aren't familiar with the most severely long term disabled people so they end up not taking it seriously. There are a couple like that at my GP surgery, but then also a couple that know me by name so put me through.

As for medication, I have regular medication and use the online services of their website to order repeat perscriptions. As long as I'm not re-ordering excessively i.e. more than once a month then everything seems to work out fine most of the time.

I agree about the good long term experience GP's seem to not last long because they become so popular. One Dr here, from the moment he came to the surgery everyone in the town was talking about him and recommending him to each other. In the end he ended up retiring and moving to new zealand, as for the amount of money he was making here was low for the amount of people he was seeing. Apparently he could make a lot more money abroad.

My main Dr now is the head of the surgery. I haven't always had the best relationship with him as he used to be known to be stand-off'ish. But he's mellowed over the years and now takes more of an interest.

I think there is a problem with too few GP's around and the quality as dropped over the years. There is another surgery in town that is about to close due to it being rated inadequate. It has 6000+ patients, and there is a long waiting list to join my surgery. The other nearest surgery for them is now 2 bus rides away, or a taxi ride to the next town. The thing about that surgery is its out of the way and its in a residential area so most of the 6000+ live within walking distance, so it was great for elderly and vulnerable people to get to.

In my town there are too many houses for the amount of services required, including GP surgeries and schools for the kids.

 

[chroniclard]

Ours is excellent. Son has been poorly, got an appointment same day within 3 hours. Then again the next week, got a 9.30 appointment when phoning up at 8am.

There may be funding issues and over subscription in some areas but you keep voting for things like the Tories or Brexit then tough luck I am afraid.

 

[dowie]

We have about 80 appointments open up every morning. Including 1 week ahead. So you can have same day or 1 week ahead depending on preference. They open at 8am. They are gone by 805.

I presume that is the appointments available via the online system, similar case with my local surgery (though they release them the evening before), it is fine for me, I just log on and am quick to select an appointment with my chosen GP and book... though I suspect they've got this in place because they've been told to as part of some initiative.

The phones are still a mess and could be addressed relatively easily but for whatever reason (perhaps the partners are tight or the practice manager just doesn't care) they aren't.

 

[Minstadave]

All practices suffer the same issues largely, varying on severity across the country.

There arent enough GPs. We dont invest adequately on training (the training is mediocre at best currently).
This leads to very short appointments and being massively over subscribed.
GPs dont settle into partnerships as much because being a partner is very involved. You end up being a doctor, business owner, employer and now are being forced into commissioning too.
As there are few partners more money is spent on salaried and locum GPs. This means continuity of care is over.
Because partners are doing more non clinical work they see less patients.
GPs are being driven into large conglomerates of practices, killing off local branch practices in favour of more centralised services.

 

[omnomnom]

Why are you ringing for appointments? Book online.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

There aren't enough people graduating from medical school who want to become GPs
While extra money can improve virtually any situation, it's not really the issue here
This is compounded by GP contracts where they can enjoy a very high standard of living without having to work full time and/or retire early

 

[omnomnom]

I was quoted 6 weeks recently too see my normal gp if you do get an appointment it's a locum there is no continuity of care anymore , we have nurses doing jobs they are not qualified too do they gave me wrong unsuitable medication, one time she was looking stuff up in books she obviously had not had adequate training.

i knew more about blood pressure meds than she did from just googling.

and the appointment system is farcical appointments get released at 8am the phone lines are chocca, people have taken too waiting outside at 7.30 now rather than phoning up.

I highly doubt that. Having seen my wife go through 3 years of a nursing degree I can assure you they will know more than you.

 

[Minstadave]

This is compounded by GP contracts where they can enjoy a very high standard of living without having to work full time and/or retire early

Not sure if that's true. Currently the GP contract (well the pension scheme) actively stops GPs from working extra even if they want to as the taper and annual allowance land you with crippling tax bills.

Given we cant get enough people to be GPs the standard of living probably isn't good enough. You couldn't have got me to be a GP when I was in training for love nor money. It's a pretty crappy job.

Locally were importing EU GPs en mass and putting them through local GP schools.

 

[Raggs]

I highly doubt that. Having seen my wife go through 3 years of a nursing degree I can assure you they will know more than you.

really why did she get the book out then she actually abandoned that and went to ask a gp it's a farce.

 

[eviled]

complain to your MP, maybe they will pay for the phone lines

 

[omnomnom]

really why did she get the book out then she actually abandoned that and went to ask a gp it's a farce.

A GP will use a book as well, what's your point?

Unless you yourself are medically trained you do not know more then a nurse who has undertaken 3 years of university including hundreds of hours of placement work.

 

[Minstadave]

I highly doubt that. Having seen my wife go through 3 years of a nursing degree I can assure you they will know more than you.

Theres a huge variability and not all nurses needed a degree in years gone by. I work with a multitude of nurses and the spectrum is very broad.

All ANPs will have a degree though.

 

[AHarvey]

Ours is excellent. Son has been poorly, got an appointment same day within 3 hours. Then again the next week, got a 9.30 appointment when phoning up at 8am.

There may be funding issues and over subscription in some areas but you keep voting for things like the Tories or Brexit then tough luck I am afraid.

Kids are always priority at ours. Never seen a parent not got a same day for it and out of hours we have shropdoc.

 

[Ahleckz]

Easily the biggest issue at GPs isn't that they are oversubscribed and understaffed (though they probably are), it's that a large number of people turning up simply don't need to be there and should instead be at a medication aisle in a supermarket or a pharmacy or just simply at home, in bed.

one time she was looking stuff up in books she obviously had not had adequate training.
.

What's wrong with that? I have to check reference guides for my job, as do you I imagine? A GP nurse can't be expected to be an expert on every single field - I'd much rather they check a book than make a guess or don't offer treatment.

 

[Overlag]

Exactly the same issues in East London. Takes about 3-4 weeks to get an appointment and by then the problem has gone away. Its been about 5 years since I've managed to actually get an appointment, normally end up going to a walk in centre or A&E (for serious stuff). Our NHS turned into the IHS and cant cope.

Ours is excellent. Son has been poorly, got an appointment same day within 3 hours. Then again the next week, got a 9.30 appointment when phoning up at 8am.

There may be funding issues and over subscription in some areas but you keep voting for things like the Tories or Brexit then tough luck I am afraid.

This was happening long before the Tories or Brexit

 

[Minstadave]

Easily the biggest issue at GPs isn't that they are oversubscribed and understaffed (though they probably are), it's that a large number of people turning up simply don't need to be there and should instead be at a medication aisle in a supermarket or a pharmacy or just simply at home, in bed.

Not sure that's born out in the evidence to be honest. It gets mentioned a lot but largely because its low hanging fruit rather than a huge burden.

The problem is demand due to an aging population, first world expectations of health care with a system that is inadequately resourced.

Healthcare is a long term investment and our government only works until the next GE. Trying to tackle the chronic issues with training, staffing and resourcing long term isn't sexy enough and is too expensive for Governement.

 

[Wizzkidy]

Same issue here in Hertfordshire, call them up either don't get through or if you do its a 6 to 8 week wait to see a doctor. What about children you ask? No go, 6 to 8 weeks again, most of the receptionist just tell me to phone 111 if I have something wrong with my children, who in turn tell me to go to A&E if there temp stays at 38.5C after giving meds. What if we had a more serious issue, if you don't get to see a doctor you may end up being even worse and wouldn't spot the issue until its too late!

Its a complete disaster with doctors at the moment.

 

[Minstadave]

Its a complete disaster with doctors at the moment.

The issue is austerity. It's the same in EDs, inpatients and GPs.

Eventually it'll reach breaking point and get sold off. Bringing GPs together into big conglomerates has made that far easier.