Let’s not bash the doctors

I see that some newspapers are attacking the doctors for trying to restrict face to face access. I know it isn’t nice. It certainly isn’t desirable from a health point of view. I also see that it is necessary. The virus has caused this problem – not the doctors.

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

Doctors, in local surgeries, are quite able to kit up, in the correct surgical gear, to avoid contamination.

Hospital Doctors seem to be able to manage it.

An endless list of patients with other ailments, like Cancer, still need treatment to just keep alive.

Being unable to get an appointment, get through by phone, is down to the management of the Surgery.

The Doctors are in charge of that!

Get some temps in, add more phones, get the messages out there.

Our local surgery was quite able to get in recently retired Doctors - but only to help with the vaccine - Could they not also have taken some calls?

Endless phone queuing, dropped calls, etc.! People are dying!

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

Depends on how long this is intended to last, or indeed will replace the doctors surgery appointment.

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

I too think they should see us in the surgery face to face.
What's the danger now we've had the vaccine? Presumably the doctor's been vaccinated too.

I think they prefer phoning people - it saves them a lot of time.

We may never go back to the old way again.

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

Yes I agree that was the original reason Mr. Magoo, but carrying on this way indefinitely is a different thing altogether. Why do you feel it is still necessary?

Other professions are working again, or will be shortly now, so why do doctors still need to hide away?
Have they no faith in the vaccinations they are dishing out?
Have they no protective clothing?

Dentists are working and their erxaminations and procedures are more likely to leave them exposed to the virus than a doctor sitting 2 mtrs away from us!
It's a damn good job the hospital doctors aren't refusing to see people too!

People are being mis-diagnosed, or even dying because they can't access care. This is not acceptable.
As I said in another thread, the doctors are being dictated to by NHS England, but surely if they all got together and insisted these telephone calls are causing so many problems and health concerns for patients, maybe rules would change, but how do you know the GP's don't actually prefer it this way now?

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

I think C19 is going to bring a huge change to medical treatment some ok some dangerous.

Triage by telephone had begun before C10 but will now be used more extensively with only 'must see' patients having surgery appointments.

I had a call from a nurse last autumn to say my yearly asthma review will now be carried out online or on telephone and I am ok with that but I can't help thinking some vital indicators to problems will be missed without face to face contact . The asthma nurse used to routinely check my BP and while I can do this myself others can't and BP can be an indicator of health issues .

My niece recently had a sick child with a rash and the doctor told her to take a photograph and send it, some rashes in children need a 'glass test' to rule out meningitis a photograph does not lend itself to doing this.

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

https://realmedia.press/nhs-new-gp-contracts/

Not surprising.

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

I think the problem is that the surgery will need decontaminating
between every patient Carol , to prevent patient. to patient
transmission of the virus ??
And l think you are right, this situation may be with us for years !!

Donkeyman! 👎👎

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

I have come to realise am so lucky, my doctors see patients face to face if deemed necessary. I saw a nurse yesterday for my 3 monthly B12 injection. We haven't had a problem. It's scandalous and horrendous how some practices are seeing no one, not even cancer patients, what are they meant to do, just go die? Families should sue for neglect

Re: Let’s not bash the doctors

I have found that nurses are now doing many of the jobs that doctors did, and although the nurses are caring they do not have the experience of the doctors! Apart from that, they are expected to do twice the work they used to.
My diabetic nurses, who do most of the diabetic care are now so overworked that they are making mistakes.They don't always call when you have a phone appointment & it took me over 3 hours on the phone, to get advice when my insulin stopped working.
The Insulin wasn't working because , it seems, it was not kept permanently refrigerated before it was given to me. They don't know who was responsible for this and nobody is likely to confess! Fortunately I know enough about insulin so managed to deal with the problem myself when I got no satisfactory answers from the nurses, GP's & the 111 health line. I had to dispose of 8 vials of bad insulin & am now ok with a new prescription, that I had ordered early when I realized the insulin was not right!
My feeling is that the NHS services are going down hill & will now care for those with emergency health problems rather than help patients to reduce their illness from becoming an emergency!