Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

Both those articles make very disturbing reading, Baz, but thanks for sharing them. If the doctors are already struggling and playing catch up, there is no way its going to get better any time soon, and that's a scary thought.

Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

There's been business as usual throughout the pandemic over here. No closed surgery policy at all. My daughter is a doctor and she and her staff were vaccinated very early. The only change being that patients with flu-like symptoms are expected to call the GP in advance and then have to show up at a particular time of the day.
No doubt that face-to-face consultations are second to none. As for image-based diagnoses, they are provisional ones, of course. It's actually what most present-day doctors are trained in best. Old GP often complain about younger colleagues not being able to diagnose something without medical imaging. Goes without saying that a photo taken with a mobile and having a low resolution is not the same as medical imaging but even those photos, if of high quality, can tell them more than a thousand words and, as I said, need to be followed up if it's a severe or unclear case. Unfortunately, telemedicine may be the future in many rural areas if you want to see a specialist at least where I live.

Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

I have to agree, Dachs...but with an ever increasing aging population and the increase of people not "wanting to bother the doctor" or "they have the pandemic to worry about"(as a neighbour said to me today) its just little bit anxiety inducing. Plus so many clues are missing with lack of eye contact/body language and things. I don't know what the answer is, to be honest, I just hope it gets a bit more organised.....the last thing we need is exhausted doctors running about playing catch up.

Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

It's not the GPs who have to worry about the pandemic most. Over here it's the clinics and IC units. It comes as a surprise to me that surgeries have been closed in the UK. What might be the reason for that, I wonder? And what about dental surgeries? Have they been closed as well?

Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

Not recently no...I think dental surgeries were closed in the first lockdown last year, but opened up to emergencies more recently. I had dental treatment, and I think a couple of other folk here had work done too. Not sure if regular check ups are still going on though. I was very pleased with the high level of cleanliness and care in my dental practice.

Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

Our dental surgeries have never been closed. Temporarily, they just didn't offer optional treatments like professional tooth cleaning. I've had five dental appointments plus tooth cleaning since January.

So we don't know why surgeries have been operating a closed surgery policy, then?

Re: Thoughts about Doctors....

Not really, no. Other than some reports of having to clean up the waiting room & surgery after each patient....but dental surgeries do that anyway, so....? I do know that my local GP surgery this week, is allowing face to face appointments if necessary to over 75 year olds. Quite where they they get rule from, I do not know!