Telephone GP consultations.

^ My surgery, originally a family practice, is now part of a group of five surgeries, owned and run by the doctors, and offering an increasingly poor service^

This is exactly what has happened with my practice, eazybee. My practice has taken on 3 other surgeries plus contracts with prisons, the MOD, Women's Health Organisations, etc. yet most of the doctors only work part-time.

It was extremely hard to get an appointment within 3 weeks before the pandemic, and since March 2020 it has been impossible. We can't get through on the phone to book blood tests or even a telephone appointment. We have now been told that there will be nothing until mid January.

My asthma clinical review consisted of a questionnaire I had to answer online and email back to them, and then after 3 weeks I received a text telling me to carry on as I was. Fortunately I have it under control and know what I'm doing with my inhalers, but I have found Asthma UK more helpful with a free telephone appointment with an asthma nurse. At least I can get through straight away.

My surgery's website suggests a number of private treatments which they describe as "self referrals".

It's not the Govt trying to privatise the NHS. GPs' surgeries are doing it themselves.

The weak link in the NHS is undoubtedly the GP service. My surgery, originally a family practice, is now part of a group of five surgeries, owned and run by the doctors, and offering an increasingly poor service.
My belief is that doctors will shortly mount a demand to privatise, as dentists and opticians do, and that their conduct during covid is a taste of how they will behave if their demands are not met.
I am attempting to access the financial accounts of the surgeries to see how and where their income is spent, in the way one once could see financial accounts of schools in reports to parents.
The practice owners talk blandly of government cutbacks and the difficulty of attracting doctors who can't afford to live in an expensive area. They could if they worked fulltime, like the rest of us. Their accounting needs investigation. My area is rapidly expanding, which means more patients but also more money, and the practice responds by reducing working hours and employing part-time staff.
I have never before felt the need to criticise or complain about the NHS, but I seriously believe the GP service is declining, driven by the entitlement of many of the doctors it employs.

I'm so sorry to read some of these posts. M0nica that is just dreadful. I do hope things are improving now. What an awful worry.

Very difficult for all GPs and staff, we are lucky not to have encountered problems and can only praise our practice they have been superb.

Pity all of those working in GP practices. They have been under financial restraints for years, seen many of the practices privatised into profit making groups. Lack of Doctors willing to go into General Practice. Receptionists at practices so often villified, and even subject to physical assault,

Their own staff are as likely as anyone else, maybe more so, to go off sick or with stress. Then, they had to hear an announcement as to how many boosters they would be given over a a couple of weeks through the television. No chance to make any proper arrangements - and at the time of the year when in normal times, GP surgeries are usually very over-stretched.

Not sure how people expect them also to be able to offer f2f appointments, at this time. Yes, many serious illnesses will be missed and mis-diagnosed.

Sorry to have to repeat myself - but that is a result of having a government whose only purpose is to make profits for themselves.

Dickens The problem was that it was the fact that the doctor (on the phone) forgot to order a blood test, when he should have, that caused all the problems. If DD had been sitting in his surgery he would have been able to see that she was not quite right, and hopefully remembered that anaemia was frequent in cases like hers and ordered a blood test when the problem was mild.

Yes, she has fully recovered.

I've by-passed my surgery for years now and dealt with the hospital.

My brother was fobbed off with phone consultations about a cancer on the side of his face. He'd kept phoning to say it had taken bad ways and in the end paid for a consultation and had it removed last month, including a small graft all costing him £5,000.

Our doctors have not been too bad. My DH has had loads of problems this year, first started with blood clots 10 days after his first Astra vaccination. His asthma got worse and that has recently got worse so the poor thing has been through the mill this year. Every problem has been dealt with straight away with numerous long hospital visits and tests. He contacted our doctors last week because he had the shakes. The doctors immediately sent him for blood tests the next day, then was contacted by doctors next day and told to go for another one because he was showing signs of low vitamin D. He was then contacted yesterday. He is lacking vitamin D so had to go to surgery for an injection. He has to have three more next week, one on Christmas eve plus a face to face with the doctor on Thursday. It is a pain to get appointments but I must admit once we get through they do act on it. We live in a West Berkshire town and our surgery is a smaller one compared to others in the town and I know it has not been easy for people in other surgeries to get through. I think it is all a lottery and it should not be.

Ive been asked to phone the hospital for a certain test, by my doctor. Then, the snooty receptionist refuses even though you have told her the doctor asked you to phone. I ended up having to tell the doctor that the receptionist wouldn't entertain me. Waste of time all round. However, I did get the test that was needed. It does happen and I hasten to add this was pre- Pandemic times.

M0nica

A telephone appointment nearly killed our daughter last year.

The doctor forgot to order a blood test, which should have been automatic with the condition she had. When she kept ringing in as she got worse, he refused to see her until the scans he ordered took place.

She spent weeks ringing the local health people trying to get the scans. When they took finally took place and the GP finally ordered a blood test, she was so anaemic the doctor rang her in a panic saying she could have a fatal heart attack at any moment. The problem was then dealt with, but she was officially recorded as being 'critically' ill, which means in life/death situation and has been on the priority list for everything from COVID jabs to flu jabs for a year.

What would have happened if she had just waited for her scan rather than harrassing the health authority to get it done. I do not want to think.

Why on earth was it your poor daughter's job to keep ringing the people involved to get her scan? The surgery should have been following it up on an urgent basis. Surely any doctor knows that anaemia if left untreated can lead to heart failure - it's basic stuff.

Sheer dereliction of duty by her doctor. I hope your daughter is recovering well... my goodness, what a scare.

My surgery has only been doing telephone appointments, most of the time for emergencies only, for months and months. I’ve been waiting for a specialist consultation for months and that turned out to be telephone appointment as well. Had to wait by the phone between 9am and 1pm. They rang at 12.30. All she did was refer me back to the GP, who are only taking emergencies. It’s all too frustrating for words.

A telephone appointment nearly killed our daughter last year.

The doctor forgot to order a blood test, which should have been automatic with the condition she had. When she kept ringing in as she got worse, he refused to see her until the scans he ordered took place.

She spent weeks ringing the local health people trying to get the scans. When they took finally took place and the GP finally ordered a blood test, she was so anaemic the doctor rang her in a panic saying she could have a fatal heart attack at any moment. The problem was then dealt with, but she was officially recorded as being 'critically' ill, which means in life/death situation and has been on the priority list for everything from COVID jabs to flu jabs for a year.

What would have happened if she had just waited for her scan rather than harrassing the health authority to get it done. I do not want to think.

Poppyred
My first appointment with ENT was on the phone, like a triage appointment really. I was then seen in in outpatients two weeks later. I had good treatment only 3 weeks from first visiting the GP. Good luck.

My surgery has been excellent. I have a F2F appointment this morning about a rash.

Our local Health Centre posted on Facebook this week that because of the booster thing, they would only be seeing urgent cases in the surgery until the first week of January. So it looks as though that appears to be the deadline of seeing everyone who needs a booster.

DH has been battling to get his B/P under control all year change after change of meds and many unpleasant side effects. In desperation he wrote to his GP who sent him a text saying she had read the letter and reception would make him an app to talk to her. It's for 6th Jan. In the time that took her she could have just phoned.

Dickens Thank you. He's fine now thankfully.

you're not your

LadyStardust

My husband was given antibiotics for a chest infection, after a phone consultation in the summer. 3 days later he was in A&E with a life threatening pulmonary embolism. I'm still pretty miffed.

... a clear indication that patients need to have face-to-face appointments. I've heard stories similar to yours. Telephone appointments should not be the default setting.

I hope your husband is OK now. Not surprised your still miffed.

My husband was given antibiotics for a chest infection, after a phone consultation in the summer. 3 days later he was in A&E with a life threatening pulmonary embolism. I'm still pretty miffed.

I had a telephone consultation with my G.P earlier in the year, expressing concerns at my symptoms, she asked me to come into the surgery.
Within 24 hours tests were arranged and I was attending the hospital for further investigation and biopsies within 9 days.
I couldn't fault the care I've had.
I'm very lucky.

I cant even get a telephone appointment never mind face to face. Took myself off to a drop in care centre today as have been trying to get a telephone appointment for several days...only to be told at the drop in centre that I needed to speak to my GP in order to get a referral!!!! You couldn't make it up really!!

Our surgery may as well have barbed wire all the way round to keep patients out.
They are a disgrace.
They do not even have the excuse of doing vaccinations as they are all done from a local NHS hub.

We’re fortunate, our surgery is still seeing people, including Christmas Eve, triaged through online/phone consultations.

This picture is from my daughter - rang 200 times about her 5 month old son!