Future of GPs.

[duncet]

Throughout most of this year, whilst shops, pubs, restaurants, offices, public transport, churches and most other providers of services normally accessed by the public have been in turmoil with many people not knowing whether they would be open or not, the one avenue of consistency throughout has been the GPs Surgery.
If you are ill and it isn't something that can be rectified by a phone call (hopefully sometime that day) then you can either toddle along to A&E or hope that your symptoms will go away.
Amazingly, people just seem to accept this. Hospital outpatient departments are now once again accepting patients and on arrival, temperatures are being checked for signs of fever, yet GP surgeries just carry on, as they have been doing for well over 6 months.
Could this be the most we can expect for the future? Is it the end of the road for the family doctor? There certainly doesn't seem to be any likely change in the foreseeable future.

[Hamble]

Throughout most of this year, whilst shops, pubs, restaurants, offices, public transport, churches and most other providers of services normally accessed by the public have been in turmoil with many people not knowing whether they would be open or not, the one avenue of consistency throughout has been the GPs Surgery.
If you are ill and it isn't something that can be rectified by a phone call (hopefully sometime that day) then you can either toddle along to A&E or hope that your symptoms will go away.
Amazingly, people just seem to accept this. Hospital outpatient departments are now once again accepting patients and on arrival, temperatures are being checked for signs of fever, yet GP surgeries just carry on, as they have been doing for well over 6 months.
Could this be the most we can expect for the future? Is it the end of the road for the family doctor? There certainly doesn't seem to be any likely change in the foreseeable future.

Not sure what you mean about G.p's could you clarify?

[Alikado]

I think it is 'all part of the plan', for many years the Government has been doing away with smaller practices, I think the future will see one centralised call centre in a town, the calls will be screened before you are passed to the next available doctor, only extreme cases will be invited to an in person consultation. Many outpatients routine checkouts will be the same, all in the name of modernisation and efficiency.

[Little Londoner]

I have to go once a month for blood test the surgery is like a morgue and in all the time this issue of covid has been going on I have seen ONE Doctor at the Surgery. After ringing for an appointment for the other arf only a telephone consultation and a delivery of anti biotics, the doc on the phone could have been in Barbados for all I know.

At the moment you have more chance of your one line winning the lottery than you have of seeing a doctor.

From a supposed 7 day a week service you now can't buy an appointment.

The GP's can't claim being overworked now, so as stated I see this carrying on long after the China Crisis has gone it has been manna from heaven for the Tory hatred of plebs getting looked after.

[sandGroundZero]

The Royal College of General Practioners, the BMJ and others have been warning for a number of years of an impending crisis owing to large numbers of GPs approaching retirement age. In addition, it appears to be the case that many GPs are preferring locum tenens, presumably because there is less stress and more flexibility.

Successive governments' tinkering with the health services including GP practices have had a thoroughly disruptive impact. The mental picture of the NHS most of us imagine probably bears little resemblance to the current actuality. An acquaintance has been in communication with an office in London about the details of a telephone consultation — a 'contracted-out ' service, almost certainly.

Is it privatisation by stealthy degrees?

[The PNP]

Successive governments' tinkering with the health services including GP practices have had a thoroughly disruptive impact. The mental picture of the NHS most of us imagine probably bears little resemblance to the current actuality. An acquaintance has been in communication with an office in London about the details of a telephone consultation — a 'contracted-out ' service, almost certainly.

Way back when, a doctor would hold his surgeries at published times, for patients able to attend. He would then make house calls, with his trusty bag containing stethoscope etc, for patients who were laid up and too poorly to visit the surgery. Those days however, appear to be long gone.

[Mr Saxon]

Now then, I've only been to the doctor's once this year and that was in about July, fairly straight forward affair, arrive about 20 mins before appointment and you are asked to wait until your name appears on the screen that calls patients in.
At another doctor's around the corner from where I live (I won't name names) it is far from straight forward. I have seen queues of people stood outside (sometimes in the rain) waiting to get in to see what I would class as a useless doctor.
No one comes to the door and from what I've seen , the patients are running out of patience and looking through the window to see if anyone is actually in. I think you'd be better off going to the vets to be honest.

[Hamble]

Progress is responsible for the decline in the family G.p service as we remember before 1990.

The service now employs salaried doctors-the partners do not buy in to the practice.
The population and patient demand is too high for partners to cover out of house services.
This is supported by an on call service.

A lot of doctors are not UK born a demand needed for our changing population.
Great number are women.
Great number are job share salaried and women.
Litigation and medical science have advanced.

The patient/Dr rules have changed all due to positive influences.
The internet.
Rapid response
Sadly the trauma left by Harold Shipman.
Litigation.

The only constant is the free at the point of delivery service.

[seivad]

I don't know if this is the case in the UK, but over here one of the main reasons that GPs stopped seeing patients was due to the inability to provide a safe environment for patients and practice staff due to the shortage of PPE. They resorted to sourcing it themselves, but the cost was about 10 times higher than usual, and there was no guarantee that the government would reimburse them. Supplies of PPE were bought to provide for patients whose needs couldn't be met by virtual or phone appointments. As the costs became even more prohibitive, most practices stopped seeing any patients until around August.

Virtual or phone appointments are still the norm, but some patients can have an in person appointment. Hubby has seen our GP twice. Rather than have patients sitting in the waiting area, once you get to the surgery you phone them. When the doctor is ready to see you, they call you back.... and off you go!

[said]

Throughout most of this year, whilst shops, pubs, restaurants, offices, public transport, churches and most other providers of services normally accessed by the public have been in turmoil with many people not knowing whether they would be open or not, the one avenue of consistency throughout has been the GPs Surgery.
If you are ill and it isn't something that can be rectified by a phone call (hopefully sometime that day) then you can either toddle along to A&E or hope that your symptoms will go away.
Amazingly, people just seem to accept this. Hospital outpatient departments are now once again accepting patients and on arrival, temperatures are being checked for signs of fever, yet GP surgeries just carry on, as they have been doing for well over 6 months.
Could this be the most we can expect for the future? Is it the end of the road for the family doctor? There certainly doesn't seem to be any likely change in the foreseeable future.

We were discussing this very point the other day. I have rarely visited a doctor and have managed to steer well away from hospitals. On those rare occasions when I have been to see a GP - I have been given medication that has made me feel much worse than the symptoms I went with.
While the focus has been almost entirely on coronavirus, with every single health service devoted to helping sufferers of this disease - hundreds of thousands of people up and down thecountry are suffering and dying with heart attacks, pneumonia, Alzheimer's, cancer, etc., who cannot get medical attention either because it is almost impossible to do so, or because they are afraid they will be stopping someone from getting attention for the relatively mild coronavirus.
As you suspected - there are to be new contracts introduce for GP surgeries reflecting the service which has been employed over the coronavirus period.

https://tommicklewright.com/pcns-and...contract-2020/

[Hamble]

I don't know if this is the case in the UK, but over here one of the main reasons that GPs stopped seeing patients was due to the inability to provide a safe environment for patients and practice staff due to the shortage of PPE. They resorted to sourcing it themselves, but the cost was about 10 times higher than usual, and there was no guarantee that the government would reimburse them. Supplies of PPE were bought to provide for patients whose needs couldn't be met by virtual or phone appointments. As the costs became even more prohibitive, most practices stopped seeing any patients until around August.

Virtual or phone appointments are still the norm, but some patients can have an in person appointment. Hubby has seen our GP twice. Rather than have patients sitting in the waiting area, once you get to the surgery you phone them. When the doctor is ready to see you, they call you back.... and off you go!

The only thing that has changed is call screening.
A trained member of staff only books patients to see the Dr or for a visit in person if it is necessary.
In the past calls patients could see a Dr on demand as long as they were prepared to book and wait.

Full PPE is worn by Dr and nursing staff.

Telephone consultations are used whenever appropriate.

Different entrances/times are used for patients visiting for immunisations.
Some treatment is given in the car park.

[Alikado]

The only thing that has changed is call screening.
A trained member of staff only books patients to see the Dr or for a visit in person if it is necessary.
In the past calls patients could see a Dr on demand as long as they were prepared to book and wait.

Full PPE is worn by Dr and nursing staff.

Telephone consultations are used whenever appropriate.

Different entrances/times are used for patients visiting for immunisations.
Some treatment is given in the car park.

It's different round here, you get told, phone consultations only, if you want to see a doctor go the hospital.

[Hamble]

It's different round here, you get told, phone consultations only, if you want to see a doctor go the hospital.

Are you sure you have the correct facts on that?

[local]

Artificial intelligence is already outperforming Doctors in many areas which is great support for them and a useful second check for the patients.

Some Doctors work very hard and deserve our thanks but some are too happy to avoid it.

[Alikado]

Are you sure you have the correct facts on that?

Certain