Re: GP Surgeries

That is shocking about your sister Meg.
I do agree about things have got bigger but not better.
Something else that puts me off is I often find some of the receptionists are most unwelcoming. What would a smile cost them? Sometimes they look at us as if we are little more than a nuisance for being there.

Re: GP Surgeries

I have to say that . after hearing others problems at their doctors I am feeling very privileged. The receptionists at my Primary Care centre are friendly and helpful. When I was going through my Chemo, one of them even offered to deliver any prescriptions I needed, so I didn't have to go to the surgery where I could catch germs.
I can always get a doctors appointment for the same day, unless i say it isn't urgent ( as i did yesterday and they could still see me on Mon, Tue or Wed, asking which time suited me best).
If I dial 111 I can get help on the phone and they will arrange an appointment, if necessary, to see an out of hours doctor at the hospital.
I avoid A&E unless it is essential, but I certainly won't be moving from this area after hearing some of the other's experiences , on here.

Re: GP Surgeries

Good on TM for telling GP's to get their houses in order, but why oh why did she add those words I loathe...by 2020!!
For goodness sake, surely it doesn't take 4 years to bring these changes about. What is it with that flippin figure.?
Surgeries that close in the afternoons at 2 pm or take 3 hour lunch breaks should get an immediate kick up the backside now and be told to change to 8 to 8 within 12 months or their funding stops. no messing about! giving them until 2020 is like a pointless threat and kicking it into the long grass to me.

The crisis is happening NOW! not in 4 years.

Re: GP Surgeries

Correct me if I'm wrong please, but are we the only country who gives away free medical care for overseas visitors, migrants and immigrants? That is the main reason that the NHS cannot cope with demand and is in such a bad way. Of course, the government are not allowed to mention that for fear of racial hatred and discrimination - but we all know it's true. I'm certain that we need to pay our own hospital bills if we are taken ill abroad.

What about the reception staff as well? Is it right that they will be bullied into working extra hours? It's a similar situation to supermarkets where staff are ordered to work overtime on bank holidays etc.

Re: GP Surgeries

I totally agree with you Floydy and of course we are building lots more homes now, sometimes a thousand new homes near a town but no one ever considers building a new surgery or a new dentists to take all the extra people. A thousand new homes = two thousand people and at least a thousand cars and probably two thousand school kids in the future.

Re: GP Surgeries

That's right, Longdogs.
And the other main reason the NHS is poorly funded is because of all the foreign aid we are continually sending to wealthy countries. An Ethiopian girl band getting half a million quid...the mind boggles.
We need some kind of complete overhaul in this country. Perhaps a kind of Donald Trump character, but with tact and diplomacy!

Re: GP Surgeries

Yes, I agree with that Dongles, they have done exactly that around here.
There are two doctors surgeries within about a mile & half from me, and they built houses around both of them, right around the edge of the patients car park.
I know the GP's tried to contest this at one surgery, because they said they couldn't cope with the influx of new patients, but the builders still got the plans passed and went ahead.

The thing is though, even if they did build more surgeries, are there enough doctors left to work there, there seem to be so many leaving from what I can see.

Re: GP Surgeries

The two or three hour lunch breaks aren't accurate, they eat lunch on the run much of the time.

This is when house calls are made and also this is when they do their admin work which is considerable actually you wouldn't believe how much admin the do, I had my eyes opened.

Insurance forms to be filled in which means notes have to be accessed and gone through, we're still on paper notes here in Wales.

Solicitors letters asking for medical histories to support various cases. Support letters for just about everything, it really is unbelievable.

Our surgeries have stopped issuing support letter for housing, that had gotten ridiculous.

Even gun licences have to have an over view of medical history by GP, applications for HM services, in many cases they don't have much of a lunch at all.

Re: GP Surgeries

We definitely need a huge kick up the arse here. Our politicians are meek wet blankets who accept all the sh*t on our behalf.

Re: GP Surgeries

There are a number of reasons for the NHS's problems which, of course, have been mentioned on here already.

My wife and I were discussing this yesterday.
I asked why it appears that France, for example, doesn't suffer from these problems and was told that they are obliged to pay for health insurance. If some are too poor to afford that, they are means tested and allowed free healthcare provision by the state.

Of course, it could be argued that we already pay for 'health insurance' in our National Insurance contributions, but I suppose this includes other things such as state pensions.

Perhaps that's a sign of things to come.