Just gonna neatly sidestep the issue of NHS waiting times there eh BBC.
edit; absolutely embarrassing that downvoters feel the need to defend both the BBC and the tory government.
So it’s to reduce the infection of Covid happening? Yet thousands of office workers are being dragged back to the office and on public transport? What makes GP’s so special?
Require a negative test before an appointment and don’t allow anyone else in the practise until their time slot. Simple.
Makes no sense. You’re taking up 2 appointment spaces for 1 in most cases. I’ve phoned my GP up several times after the Gov says everything is back to normal. On all these cases I’ve had a phone call plus I’ve had to actually go in a see the GP.
We all have to live with Covid so why not them? No one is isolating no more so they are just as likely to catch covid going to the shops as they are if someone comes in with Covid, considering that if you have any symptoms you are told not to go to your GP still and you are still told to wear a mask.
I recently needed an asthma review.
**Procedure pre-covid:**
Book an appointment with the nurse via the online portal **OR** phone through to the surgery and request an appointment.
**Current Procedure**
* Access the online portal – select a ten minute window for a telephone consultation.
* Wait for phone consultation – Discuss with the doctor on call the issue.
* Be told you need to speak to the asthma nurse.
* Be transferred through to reception to book a 15 minute video call.
* Wait for video call – Immediately receive an apology from the nurse for how convoluted the system is.
* Be given an actual appointment to attend at the GP surgery.
I had to attend my GP surgery in the very midst of the first lockdown. With GPs in full-body PPE and appointments spaced out so as to allow each room to be fully cleaned. Only in the most exceptional circumstances were they allowing people to attend the practice.
It was less “faff” attending an appointment at the height of the worst medical emergency this country has seen in generations, than it currently is to book an asthma review.
I can only hope the above experience is unique to my GP surgery and not a reflection of the situation across the country.
The phone first system is a joke. It doesn’t work. My daughter had a fever and a funny rash. It didn’t look like chicken pox, so I rang the GP for an appointment. Got given a phone appointment. How tf are you supposed to diagnose a rash via phone call? No option to send photos in and trying to get photos of a rash on an ill toddler is hellish anyway.
It turned out to be scarlet fever, which needs treatment with antibiotics. Her care was delayed by the phone first system. It needs scrapping immediately.
Add this to the seeming reduction in late night opening makes it very hard for anyone working regular hours to get to see a doctor.
I’ve just had to wait a month for a phone appointment. On the call the GP deemed me worthy of a face to face appointment, so now I wait another 2 weeks. The system is a joke.
My Dad’s had to rely on telephone first appointments and honestly it wasn’t too bad.
I bought a blood pressure machine, an in-ear thermometer, and those, alongside his pulse oximeter, tend to give us a decent overall picture of what he’s like when he’s well vs when something is wrong.
It’s generally a chest infection that we look out for so we also have a supply of sputum sample bottles which I can drop off to the GP for them to get tested.
I guess this works for GPs in 2 ways
1) cuts down on time wasters, DNAs etc.
2) reduces burden by shunting more people to a&e
However the drawbacks are obvious.
1) Serious cases are missed or treatment delayed
2) genuine cases have to be “seen” twice
3) the burden on crumbling a&e is increased
4) it destroys preventative medicine and general appraisal- loads of things are/should be picked up by a normal face to face are missed.
Local GP has the annoying system where you need to call at 8am to book a phone appointment for that day, and all appointments are gone by 8.15. But the line is so busy it was near impossible to get through.
Until i downloaded an autoredialler for the android which redials every 10 seconds until you get through, and so far that has worked poerfectly. I book all the families appointments now.
Anyway when i do speak to the GP, and he senses an issue that needs to be seen, he just tells me to come in anytime that same day. So I’ve been in about 4 times this past year, 3 of the times I had to go in.
If that is the system that works nationally I have no issue with it. But based on other comments, I seem to have just been very lucky.
How hard is to implement it based on condition? Mental health, referrals and many other things can be done remote. A rash, probably not so much.
[removed]
This and only being able to phone up for same day appointments is fucking stupid. Say you have something you’re concerned about but it’s not urgent enough to take the day off work. My gp in particular only takes calls for appointments between 8:30 and 10:30 and I could be waiting on hold for over an hour. If you work full time you simply won’t be able to do that. So now I have the choice of taking the whole day off so that I’m able phone up and be seen or wait for whatever issue I was concerned about to either sort itself out or get much worse.
My GP has an online portal (think like an IT ticket system)where you can explain your issue, attach any supporting photos and docs, and they then triage and either call back, or invite you into surgery.
So far it has worked very well when I have used it.
I’ve had a pretty good experience with my GP for non-urgent issues this past year. They introduced an online triage system: fill in a form, attach some photos if relevant, they’ll look at it and call you back within 3 days (I guess it varies by urgency and relevant staff availability). I’ve had one issue given a prescription over the phone, which I felt was appropriate and saved us both time vs a face-to-face, and on two other issues I was invited in for an examination after confirming my symptoms over the phone and then referred onwards. I’ve also used the system to get a repeat prescription no problems.
Can’t comment on same-day urgent issues though.
Wouldn’t be so bad if they did WhatsApp/face time calls so you can at least have someone looking at you face to face.
Going against the grain here but I had to use my GP this week for the first time since covid began. I was dreading trying to make an appointment, given everything I’ve been reading about GP surgeries lately. What happened though was I phoned the surgery when it opened, got a call back from my GP 2 hours later and they asked me to come in face to face after lunch. When I went in I was promptly seen, diagnosed and given a prescription, GP said they’d call me again next week to see how I’m getting on. Maybe I’ve got an absolute unicorn of a GP but I was really pleased with the service.
Force Gps to see patients in person. Much harder to fob people off if they are physically in the surgery waiting
The whole system needs reforming, esp the 111 service which is clearly not fit for purpose. It’s partly the reason why A+E has a high number of admissions.
In some respects it’s good. In other respects a telephone consultations have missed diagnosed most of my symptoms including a heart attack in the past few years. I’m not even sure why they have them.
They use Accurx for video calls when pics when needed though? I’ve not got an issue doing a video consultation if required. Maybe it varies from area to area?
At this point I am just living as though I don’t have a GP.
Brother in law returned from Barbados, a few days later he had chest pains and shortness of breath.
He booked a phone call appointment as that’s all they do. They diagnosed a chest infection.
A course of antibiotics later and he was getting worse.
Ambulance called where he was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism).
He is fine now after a long battle.
My GP has a great system.
You can call at any time and get an appointment…in 6weeks.
If you manage to get through to them between 8am and 10 past, you can have an appointment that day.
I’ve tried pointing out to them that they know I have chronic fatigue, but that hasn’t helped at all.
…kinda feels like that’s an actual crime.
I just sent my first formal complaint about my GP practice, the lack of duty of care is frankly astounding.
25 comments
Just gonna neatly sidestep the issue of NHS waiting times there eh BBC.
edit; absolutely embarrassing that downvoters feel the need to defend both the BBC and the tory government.
So it’s to reduce the infection of Covid happening? Yet thousands of office workers are being dragged back to the office and on public transport? What makes GP’s so special?
Require a negative test before an appointment and don’t allow anyone else in the practise until their time slot. Simple.
Makes no sense. You’re taking up 2 appointment spaces for 1 in most cases. I’ve phoned my GP up several times after the Gov says everything is back to normal. On all these cases I’ve had a phone call plus I’ve had to actually go in a see the GP.
We all have to live with Covid so why not them? No one is isolating no more so they are just as likely to catch covid going to the shops as they are if someone comes in with Covid, considering that if you have any symptoms you are told not to go to your GP still and you are still told to wear a mask.
I recently needed an asthma review.
**Procedure pre-covid:**
Book an appointment with the nurse via the online portal **OR** phone through to the surgery and request an appointment.
**Current Procedure**
* Access the online portal – select a ten minute window for a telephone consultation.
* Wait for phone consultation – Discuss with the doctor on call the issue.
* Be told you need to speak to the asthma nurse.
* Be transferred through to reception to book a 15 minute video call.
* Wait for video call – Immediately receive an apology from the nurse for how convoluted the system is.
* Be given an actual appointment to attend at the GP surgery.
I had to attend my GP surgery in the very midst of the first lockdown. With GPs in full-body PPE and appointments spaced out so as to allow each room to be fully cleaned. Only in the most exceptional circumstances were they allowing people to attend the practice.
It was less “faff” attending an appointment at the height of the worst medical emergency this country has seen in generations, than it currently is to book an asthma review.
I can only hope the above experience is unique to my GP surgery and not a reflection of the situation across the country.
The phone first system is a joke. It doesn’t work. My daughter had a fever and a funny rash. It didn’t look like chicken pox, so I rang the GP for an appointment. Got given a phone appointment. How tf are you supposed to diagnose a rash via phone call? No option to send photos in and trying to get photos of a rash on an ill toddler is hellish anyway.
It turned out to be scarlet fever, which needs treatment with antibiotics. Her care was delayed by the phone first system. It needs scrapping immediately.
Add this to the seeming reduction in late night opening makes it very hard for anyone working regular hours to get to see a doctor.
I’ve just had to wait a month for a phone appointment. On the call the GP deemed me worthy of a face to face appointment, so now I wait another 2 weeks. The system is a joke.
My Dad’s had to rely on telephone first appointments and honestly it wasn’t too bad.
I bought a blood pressure machine, an in-ear thermometer, and those, alongside his pulse oximeter, tend to give us a decent overall picture of what he’s like when he’s well vs when something is wrong.
It’s generally a chest infection that we look out for so we also have a supply of sputum sample bottles which I can drop off to the GP for them to get tested.
I guess this works for GPs in 2 ways
1) cuts down on time wasters, DNAs etc.
2) reduces burden by shunting more people to a&e
However the drawbacks are obvious.
1) Serious cases are missed or treatment delayed
2) genuine cases have to be “seen” twice
3) the burden on crumbling a&e is increased
4) it destroys preventative medicine and general appraisal- loads of things are/should be picked up by a normal face to face are missed.
Local GP has the annoying system where you need to call at 8am to book a phone appointment for that day, and all appointments are gone by 8.15. But the line is so busy it was near impossible to get through.
Until i downloaded an autoredialler for the android which redials every 10 seconds until you get through, and so far that has worked poerfectly. I book all the families appointments now.
Anyway when i do speak to the GP, and he senses an issue that needs to be seen, he just tells me to come in anytime that same day. So I’ve been in about 4 times this past year, 3 of the times I had to go in.
If that is the system that works nationally I have no issue with it. But based on other comments, I seem to have just been very lucky.
How hard is to implement it based on condition? Mental health, referrals and many other things can be done remote. A rash, probably not so much.
[removed]
This and only being able to phone up for same day appointments is fucking stupid. Say you have something you’re concerned about but it’s not urgent enough to take the day off work. My gp in particular only takes calls for appointments between 8:30 and 10:30 and I could be waiting on hold for over an hour. If you work full time you simply won’t be able to do that. So now I have the choice of taking the whole day off so that I’m able phone up and be seen or wait for whatever issue I was concerned about to either sort itself out or get much worse.
My GP has an online portal (think like an IT ticket system)where you can explain your issue, attach any supporting photos and docs, and they then triage and either call back, or invite you into surgery.
So far it has worked very well when I have used it.
I’ve had a pretty good experience with my GP for non-urgent issues this past year. They introduced an online triage system: fill in a form, attach some photos if relevant, they’ll look at it and call you back within 3 days (I guess it varies by urgency and relevant staff availability). I’ve had one issue given a prescription over the phone, which I felt was appropriate and saved us both time vs a face-to-face, and on two other issues I was invited in for an examination after confirming my symptoms over the phone and then referred onwards. I’ve also used the system to get a repeat prescription no problems.
Can’t comment on same-day urgent issues though.
Wouldn’t be so bad if they did WhatsApp/face time calls so you can at least have someone looking at you face to face.
Going against the grain here but I had to use my GP this week for the first time since covid began. I was dreading trying to make an appointment, given everything I’ve been reading about GP surgeries lately. What happened though was I phoned the surgery when it opened, got a call back from my GP 2 hours later and they asked me to come in face to face after lunch. When I went in I was promptly seen, diagnosed and given a prescription, GP said they’d call me again next week to see how I’m getting on. Maybe I’ve got an absolute unicorn of a GP but I was really pleased with the service.
Force Gps to see patients in person. Much harder to fob people off if they are physically in the surgery waiting
The whole system needs reforming, esp the 111 service which is clearly not fit for purpose. It’s partly the reason why A+E has a high number of admissions.
In some respects it’s good. In other respects a telephone consultations have missed diagnosed most of my symptoms including a heart attack in the past few years. I’m not even sure why they have them.
They use Accurx for video calls when pics when needed though? I’ve not got an issue doing a video consultation if required. Maybe it varies from area to area?
At this point I am just living as though I don’t have a GP.
Brother in law returned from Barbados, a few days later he had chest pains and shortness of breath.
He booked a phone call appointment as that’s all they do. They diagnosed a chest infection.
A course of antibiotics later and he was getting worse.
Ambulance called where he was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism).
He is fine now after a long battle.
My GP has a great system.
You can call at any time and get an appointment…in 6weeks.
If you manage to get through to them between 8am and 10 past, you can have an appointment that day.
I’ve tried pointing out to them that they know I have chronic fatigue, but that hasn’t helped at all.
…kinda feels like that’s an actual crime.
I just sent my first formal complaint about my GP practice, the lack of duty of care is frankly astounding.