Scaling back GP care

Our practice has been working flat out during the pandemic. Phone appointments whenever needed, followed up by face-to-face when necessary. Flu jabs done, physio and other services all available. I wish I could hug all the staff and tell them how much they are appreciated.

My surgery were crap before covid and are even worse now. If it weren't for the fact that I'm on a waiting list for knee surgery I'd go elsewhere - but I don't want to lose my place.

I totally agree with MissFoodLove and our GP practice exactly the same.
Having worked in a GP Practice for over 20 years and have been totally 100% behind them I have been left very disappointed at at times almost anxious as I feel my GP Practice is also hiding behind Covid. I have tried twice to get to see a GP in the last 9 months and both times they phoned back (which i totally get) but both times I was so rushed in the call I felt even worse when the call ended. I have friends that have GP that are offering a lot better service and seeing patients, mine are like many still not seeing patients. Just worry what else they can cut back on to do the vaccines. Totally get that they cant cope with the vaccines and what they are are doing now - so they will have to get help from other sources hopefully.

Im afraid our GP service has been woeful. My OH should have been on the list of those vulnerable during the first lockdown. He has had his spleen removed and has asthma as well. We heard not a word from the practice. We can no longer access via their website to make email contact them - that facility has just disappeared. If you need to contact them, it is via telephone only. Then you have to stay holding on for over an hour before you get through to a human being. Their flu vaccine process was an absolute farce. We ended up getting our vaccines from the Pharmacist. In my opinion local Pharmacies have been the stars in all this. If they are not seeing patients face-to-face, it rather begs the question, what have they been doing?

My GP surgery has been amazing. I've suffered with various ongoing problems throughout lockdown & have always been able to speak to a Dr when I've needed to & have had several visits in to the surgery. At one point I was sent for an ultra sound scan which came through very quickly and on another occasion when the Dr discovered a lump, I was seen within the 2 weeks. I had been waiting since referrals in April to both gynae & colorectal departments & finally had a call from the gynae consultant this week. As a result, I'm now having a CT scan on Monday & was told by the consultant he wants to see me & will also chase the colo rectal department. I really can't complain, especially as I was called to the practice for my regular BP check & the nurse gave me my flu jab at the same time so I didn't have to attend the special out if hours "jabbing session" the practice had arranged.

Missfoodlove

Our practice has basically done nothing for 9 months!

They have hidden behind Covid.

It’s the nurses that administer the vaccinations, this job could also be done by pharmacists.

Pharmacists and pharmacy staff are already at capacity. The NHS, in general, is pretty much dumping on them. They're the end of the line, forward facing, can't hide between closed doors, available for everyone to simply walk in and expect a consultation. And that's on top of everything else they do behind the scenes.

Butter? Yes, a bit, can you tell?

Teetime

My GPs have done very well - telephone requests have been dealt with promptly, I have had two successful telephone conversations, DH had his annual health check, prescription service working well, practice nurse gave me pneumococcus vac. No complaints here. If they are looking for retired nurse to give the new vaccine I'm up for it - dont want paying.

I too would willingly help give any new vaccines. Surely they could make use of us retired nurses.
The millions of vacs I must have given throughout my career!

No complaints about my Surgery. Have had a couple of phone consultations & my Flu Jab with no problems. Emails are answered with an email booking an appointment to talk to either the Nurse Practitioner or a Doctor.
One of my friends has a few problems with her Surgery but on the whole we are satisfied with all that they have done during Covid to keep us & themselves safe.

It seems that surgeries differ. I am in a low Covid area. I should have regular blood tests. Had to request one after ten months. Should have had yearly “MOT”. Beginning of the year. Got it in September" Fortunately I have been fairly well.

So right Maddyone. All Gps have been working still seeing the patients who need seeing and phone consults for the others plus the dozens of other things they do.

I wonder what our GP's are doing all day. We are allowed to phone them between 8.30 and 10 am. After that you've no way of contacting them. It took me 28 minutes to get through on the phone. If you don't get through you have to start again the next morning. As doctors are supposed to work all day, why are they not contactable all day? Makes me so cross.

Our surgery has turned in to Fort Knox and the guard is the ferocious receptionist who unfortunately has bought the house next door to my DD.

I am a retired GP who answered Boris's " call to arms " .
What ever anyone tells you or whatever your perception, I promise you that General Practice is up and running and working really , really hard, just as it always has.
You may not like certain aspects of your own practice. It is hard to please all the people all the time.
However, it is and always has been a demanding, exhausting and totally all consuming job for all concerned.
Please be patient and try not to moan as we try to cope with the extraordinary demands of normal health care combined with Covid . Many of us are at risk ourselves but still putting ourselves in harms way on your behalf.
The vaccine programme will be demanding and very difficult. The whole population ( or those who want it ) , which will be millions , needing a jab . This isn't as easy as you seem to think . We still need to ensure Covid security and patients need to be observed after the jab . It can't be done by any old person at all . The Government are expecting 12 hours days of vaccinating people for months.
I get really upset when I read such a lot of moaning.
We are blessed by the NHS in the UK. Its not perfect and it's certainly terrifyingly underfunded but those of us who work in it give our all for you .
Please be kind and patient.

It took me ages to get through to order eye drops I was told I needed by the optician. The phone kept cutting off after 20 rings or else I got the engaged signal.

The local Boots is in chaos as they use locum pharmacists and the staff are rotated around the various shops. None of them have a clue where anything is so it’s a case of hunt the medication for every person in the ever growing queue outside. Once this is over I intend changing to the pharmacy a few miles away where the pharmacist and staff are the same every time. Shorter opening hours but we can work with that.

My GP has been fine, it’s my hospital that has completely let me down. No Rheumatology appt since March , no bloods , no meds nothing , and when I call I just get the answerphone saying they will contact patients in due course- seriously ticked off now!!!}!!

I've had a couple of medical appointments recently. Both have stressed not to arrive early. Five minutes early for 1st and two for 2nd. On the first one (hospital) I was kept waiting for fifteen minutes without sign of anyone leaving and the second one (local surgery) directed me to 'wait outside until called'. That was eleven minutes and, again, not a sign of anyone departing. Fortunately it was only damp but not cold. Is this a 'caring' service? When I was escorted in, the place was locked up like a fortress. Amazing. On the latter, I have not a moment's doubt the same rules would have been applied had there been a blizzard outside. Have to say, in both cases, the treatment was exemplary. Maybe it's an administrative weakness? Don't know. Presumably the doctors know something of what goes on front of house.

The problem in my practice seems to be getting through to an actual person on the phone. Whether this is deliberate or not I don’t know. This is the usual procedure:
1. Phone number wait a while to then hear a long list of recorded Covid instructions lasting several minutes.
2. Wait to speak to receptionist again several minutes.
3. Explain problem to receptionist and why you need to see doctor.
4. Wait again to be put through to triage nurse and explain reasons for wanting to see/speak to doctor.
5. If nurse thinks you warrant seeing or speaking to doctor you are then phoned by doctor to check whether you do warrant face to face appointment or problem can be solved over phone.
6. Some friends have said that they have been told to go to A&E when normally it would be a problem dealt with by the surgery.
On the odd occasion I have visited the surgery to collect prescription the waiting room has been empty even in the morning.
I am not being judgemental here but it does beg the question some posters have asked about what some surgeries really are doing and whether they are using Covid as an excuse. Alternatively some surgeries seem to be providing an excellent service to their patients. Perhaps in future there should be closer monitoring of GP practices so that those doing well can be accredited as doing so. However, I suspect the BMA would not support this action.

Much to my surprise I have had two skin cancer ops during lockdown and the hospital was marvellous I felt very safe. However I have another medical issue and contacted my GP on the hospital’s advice but was told they do not do face to face and I was to go on e-consult and send photographs. I spent over an hour uploading photos and then answered various questions. The last question I got to was “Are you taking immunosuppressants?” When I answered yes it immediately logged
me out and told me to ring 111! I contacted the surgery and they said that this was happening to a lot of people and to do it by email. Another hour later and their email rejected all the photos. Rang again and they say there’s nothing they can do. Disappointed with the service and worried for all the immunosuppressed in our area as they will be unable to e-consult. How do people manage if they haven’t got a computer?

I speak as I find. Our GP practice - who in normal times weren’t always the best have done brilliantly during COVID. Telephone consultations available quite quickly and when speaking to my husband about a couple of problems recently called him round to the surgery same day to check him over and sent him for tests and followed up when he still felt unwell a week later. I believe they are all working really hard and the reception staff too who often put up with people who are angry and impatient.

I think it's down to individuals. Recently a GP at our practice put me on blood pressure tablets and said he'd telephone after 3 weeks to see how I was getting on. (The pharmacist at Boots telephoned twice.) When I had only 4 pills left I e-mailed the practice. The GP e-mailed back and asked me to send in BP measurements for 5 consecutive days and also asked me to have blood and urine tests. But it was the best part of a week before the new prescription came through. Not life or death I know, but pretty lax I thought.
The nurse at the practice who analysed the urine sample yesterday texted me within the hour to say that it was clear. Well done her.

Agree that GP practices vary in efficiency from area to area but I honestly can't fault mine. Since February I've been contacted for a personal telephone consultation with my GP twice; the Practice nurse has phoned me regarding blood pressure checks and a referral to the orthopaedic department at the hospital was chased up assiduously by my GP resulting in me being seen quite quickly. Any repeat prescriptions are completed within the day. I have no complaints.

My mothers GP totally useless. She is 94 and has been ill for weeks with really sore throat and a very bad cold possibly flu. She is “on the list” for a home visit flu jab but they don’t know when. She is totally fatigued, cannot sleep and put off phoning the gp as she was aware how busy they were. She finally called yesterday and after listening to her and asking lots of questions about who she had contact with was told to give it another week, if no better, call again. He was treating her as a suspect COVID case, she is housebound and doesn’t go out at all. I visited months ago when we were not in lockdown and he asked a lot of questions about me also as if it were my fault she was ill. I am over 100 miles away, if I were nearer I would try to get her to the GP but she thinks he is a waste of time and is carrying on with lem sip @nd paracetamol.

Just in case anyone was concerned she does know that lem sip has paracetamol in it, and knows how much she an take.

Missfoodlove

Ditto to everything you said!

I couldn't believe what I was reading! If our Surgery scaled back any more it would close. It practically has anyway.

As it is I always go to my Pharmacist for the flu jab (which is not a vaccination).

Mirren

I've had to use my local surgery for a very minor thing during this pandemic and they were wonderful. Not everyone thinks you are all slacking.