Designated GP

I attend the largest GP practice in the country and have a named GP. I always see him by virtue of booking my appointments on line with him and have done so for the past 9 years. On the one occasion I had occasion to need to see a doctor and couldn't book with him I saw a perfectly charming locum who went through my notes , diagnosed and treatment appropriately and quickly. Quite frankly I felt so ill a clinically trained gorilla would have done.

I go to a large health centre and, although I rarely need to visit, I'm lucky to get an appointment (at all) with any GP in a reasonable time.

They look me up on their screen, ask questions - and continue to focus on their screen. I might as well be on the phone nine times out of ten! A yearly weigh in and blood pressure check with the practice nurse seems the standard 'care'.

I'm in my early 60's and when I was a child we had a designated G.P. who had God like qualities, was trusted and respected. The G.P. would visit you at home if you preferred that to going to the surgery. My father had a bad back and was advised by the G.P. that he must spend his days in bed on a board until it resolved and under no circumstances cross his legs. He didn't think my father would heed this advise so he went round to our house and hid under the window to the living room, then jumped out and caught my father on the sofa, legs crossed. Father had a good ticking off and was sent back to bed.
We had two very good G.|Ps at our surgery who were full time and very friendly. Since they retired they have been replaced by one full timer, who it is impossible to get appointments to see and two very unpleasant ladies who work part time and see only to want to argue. The locums are great, I usually book to see one of them.

I am 82 and have very little contact with my surgery.
If I do phone for something I will get told I need a meds’ review but this is now carried out by a visiting Pharmacist.
I haven’t seen a Dr for 2 years or more,
I saw a physio when having hip pain, again he visits one day a week, he referred me for an X-ray and then he referred me to Orthopaedics.
I am waiting for a hip replacement all without seeing. GP.

I feel very fortunate to have had the same GP for many years. She knows me and is a really good doctor.

I have a designated GP and he is wonderful.
He recognises me straight away and always has a smile on his face.
I dread the day he retires.

The GP service is changing beyond all recognition, isn't it?

We have that awful telephone triage system, and you no longer have one GP overseeing all of your health issues. I very much doubt there will be a callout service any more (although I haven't needed it since my children were babies), and the onus is on the patient to manage their health, despite usually having no medical training whatsoever.

I can't help wondering if there will soon be an optional semi-private service which lets you pay for all of the things we used to take for granted, but get the actual treatment on the NHS. It is heading that way already with the subscription telephone services.

I wouldn't mind so much, but people of our generation have paid in all our lives and many of us haven't budgeted for needing to pay for things like this, now that we are no longer earning. It seems most unfair when changes are made without recognition of the fact that we 'bought into' one system and are being given another just as we start to need it more (see also pensions).

If you're over 75, you should have a named GP responsible for co-ordinating your care.

Happy to say mine knows me

I have had the same designated GP for several years now and have never even seen her passing by in the surgery, I would not know who she is.
She took a years maternity leave and now only works part time as do all the women Drs but one.