Coronavirus Thread (Off Topic, Politics) (144 Viewers)

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Nick

Nick

Administrator
Sbarcher said:
Whatever next?
GPs to be given cash (bribes) to see more patients face to face (just like they used to!)
The hospital where my wife works yesterday had a queue of 98 people in A&E, the vast majority referred by their GP after a telephone "consultation".
After a quick check and either a prescription or re-assurance thet were sent off on their way.
This should be the job of the GP not clogging up Accident and Emergency units - the clue to their main purpose is in their title!
I've no doubt those same GPs are happy to socialise face to face in bars and restaurants with friends and colleagues but are reluctant to carry out their paid professions.
Makes my piss boil (maybe I should see a GP).
Click to expand...

GPs are a waste of space. Absolutely no interest.

It's no wonder people go straight to A and E and take up their time in there.

The whole "can't see people" is bollocks as well. It's much easier for them to give you a 2 minute phone call and tell you to go and get tested for COVID. (After you have spent 40 minutes on hold to make the appointment that morning because you can't pre book, you have to ring up at 8AM with everybody).
 
shmmeee

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
Well I like telephone consultations. Got a call back at work, took ten minutes out of my day instead of having to book half a day of leave to sit in a room full of diseased people.
 
D

Deleted member 5849

Guest
shmmeee said:
Well I like telephone consultations. Got a call back at work, took ten minutes out of my day instead of having to book half a day of leave to sit in a room full of diseased people.
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Telephone consultations are great as a filter - who needs to actually see the doctor to find you have carpal tunnel syndrome, or flu?

Shouldn't be a total replacement of course, but as a filter, it's fine.
 
chiefdave

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
Sbarcher said:
Whatever next?
GPs to be given cash (bribes) to see more patients face to face (just like they used to!)
The hospital where my wife works yesterday had a queue of 98 people in A&E, the vast majority referred by their GP after a telephone "consultation".
After a quick check and either a prescription or re-assurance thet were sent off on their way.
This should be the job of the GP not clogging up Accident and Emergency units - the clue to their main purpose is in their title!
I've no doubt those same GPs are happy to socialise face to face in bars and restaurants with friends and colleagues but are reluctant to carry out their paid professions.
Makes my piss boil (maybe I should see a GP).
Click to expand...
This is just the government pushing the blame onto GPs who were told to stop face to face appointments as part of covid measures.

Hunt promised 5K increase in GPs by 2020. Didn't happen. Hancock promised 6K increase in GPs by 2025, yet since 2015 the number of GPs has decreased by 2K.

The latest patient satisfaction survey, which covers the pandemic period, reports that 82% of people are happy with the appointment offered.

How long before its suggested the way to 'fix' this problem is handing over more money to private healthcare providers?
 
Nick

Nick

Administrator
shmmeee said:
Well I like telephone consultations. Got a call back at work, took ten minutes out of my day instead of having to book half a day of leave to sit in a room full of diseased people.
Click to expand...

In theory it's ideal but having to sit on the phone for 40 minutes at work on hold isn't ideal.
 
Sbarcher

Sbarcher

Well-Known Member
shmmeee said:
Well I like telephone consultations. Got a call back at work, took ten minutes out of my day instead of having to book half a day of leave to sit in a room full of diseased people.
Click to expand...
No problem with things that can be handled over the phone, but GPs routinely sending patients to A&E for minor/trivial ailments instead of inviting them to the surgey is a total drain on the vastly costlier A&E unit not to mention their inability to properly deal with patients who really need A&E care. It's a filter which in not working.
 
skybluetony176

skybluetony176

Well-Known Member
I had a health scare earlier this year (nothing to worry about in the end). I had a telephone consultation in the morning, a face to face consultation in the afternoon, a referral on the spot, seen the specialist 2 days later. The only thing I had to wait for was a scan, a 2 week wait that probably would have been a 2 week wait anyway as it was precautionary not emergency.

In my experience anyone with a genuine medical concern is being dealt with. The only people probably missing out are the time wasters who make a face to face appointment every time they get a runny nose expecting a prescription for penicillin.
 
shmmeee

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
Sbarcher said:
No problem with things that can be handled over the phone, but GPs routinely sending patients to A&E for minor/trivial ailments instead of inviting them to the surgey is a total drain on the vastly costlier A&E unit not to mention their inability to properly deal with patients who really need A&E care. It's a filter which in not working.
Click to expand...

Yeah NHS Direct has the same issue. Though surely if you rock up to A&E without reason you’re weeded out at triage.
 
SBAndy

SBAndy

Well-Known Member
Nick said:
In theory it's ideal but having to sit on the phone for 40 minutes at work on hold isn't ideal.
Click to expand...

One of the more frustrating things for me is when booking an appointment “you’ll get a call at some time this afternoon”. Well, fuck me. That’s quite a broad timescale. Can’t be more accurate than that? Brilliant.

I don’t mind the idea of phone/video consultations but they surely have to think about what is appropriate and give people choice. I thought I had a small fracture in my foot earlier this year - how on earth do I articulate that to a doctor over the phone?
 
hill83

hill83

Well-Known Member
Nick said:
In theory it's ideal but having to sit on the phone for 40 minutes at work on hold isn't ideal.
Click to expand...

You need to change doctors by the sound of it. Mine is a piece of piss. Book online, get a time slot they’ll call you. Job done.
 
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Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
shmmeee said:
Well I like telephone consultations. Got a call back at work, took ten minutes out of my day instead of having to book half a day of leave to sit in a room full of diseased people.
Click to expand...

I agree. There's things that beforehand I'd have had to book an appointment for and take time out whereas now those things can be covered in a quick ten minute phone call.

I think the point is that it appears some GP's are having these conversations and then rather than getting them to go to the surgery for a proper appointment if they think it needs further investigation they seem to be telling them to go to the hospital. If the person can wait for a telephone appointment chances are it's not urgent enough for hospitals and the symptoms can be checked in person by the doctor first to see how severe it is and then referred if necessary. Sometimes there may not be appointments available in the next few days and I can't speak for every practice but in my local surgery there are far fewer people in the waiting room than before because of telephone appointments.

I had an infected insect bite that I talked about on the phone and got some antibiotics. It spread and the doctor then had me in for a face to face appointment to have a look at it before deciding that I needed IV antibiotics and sending me to the hospital.
 
Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
shmmeee said:
Booking is gash. Why I can’t just book it online instead of talking to an arsey receptionist I don’t know.
Click to expand...

I used to be able to book online and then last year the option disappeared. Dunno if they were having problems with it or it was being misused but I found it worked brilliantly and I'm gutted the option is gone.
 
shmmeee

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
I used to be able to book online and then last year the option disappeared. Dunno if they were having problems with it or it was being misused but I found it worked brilliantly and I'm gutted the option is gone.
Click to expand...

They’re techno dunces at my GP, they got one of those touchscreen check in things but every time I use it it tells me it can’t find me and to check in at the desk 🤦‍♂️
 
chiefdave

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
I used to be able to book online and then last year the option disappeared. Dunno if they were having problems with it or it was being misused but I found it worked brilliantly and I'm gutted the option is gone.
Click to expand...
Same at mine, they removed it as they said it couldn't be used for booking phone appointments but surely its not a huge development job to sort that out given its a nationwide system.

My surgery is pretty good at letting patients know what was going on and they admitted they had huge problems moving to phone only as the phone system couldn't cope with the number of calls and couldn't queue people. It took months to get a new system put in and they have said they got no funding for the changes required when the covid restrictions came in.
 
D

Deleted member 9744

Guest
Nick said:
GPs are a waste of space. Absolutely no interest.

It's no wonder people go straight to A and E and take up their time in there.

The whole "can't see people" is bollocks as well. It's much easier for them to give you a 2 minute phone call and tell you to go and get tested for COVID. (After you have spent 40 minutes on hold to make the appointment that morning because you can't pre book, you have to ring up at 8AM with everybody).
Click to expand...
For most things a phone call is fine. Quicker and more convenient. Can't understand the Government's obsession about face to face GP appointments
 
Evo1883

Evo1883

Well-Known Member
Not going to comment on GPs too much , my issue is more with the reception staff who I firmly believe think they are hippocrates ...

Don't mind a telephone appointment although I reckon that many illnesses have become more serious /possibly deadly due to these over the last 18 months .
 
fernandopartridge

fernandopartridge

Well-Known Member
Sbarcher said:
Whatever next?
GPs to be given cash (bribes) to see more patients face to face (just like they used to!)
The hospital where my wife works yesterday had a queue of 98 people in A&E, the vast majority referred by their GP after a telephone "consultation".
After a quick check and either a prescription or re-assurance thet were sent off on their way.
This should be the job of the GP not clogging up Accident and Emergency units - the clue to their main purpose is in their title!
I've no doubt those same GPs are happy to socialise face to face in bars and restaurants with friends and colleagues but are reluctant to carry out their paid professions.
Makes my piss boil (maybe I should see a GP).
Click to expand...

TBF to GPs they were told to stop allowing walk in appointments by NHS England back in March 2020, and that instruction has not changed as far as I'm aware.

GPs are still seeing people face to face who need to be seen. They use telephone and video appointments. If the problem was so unserious that the person assumed in the first place a GP could treat it, they shouldn't present at A&E really.
 
Evo1883

Evo1883

Well-Known Member
43000 possible incorrect PCR results given .

Mostly down south and Wales.

Hell of a thing to get wrong
 
Nick

Nick

Administrator
wingy said:
One lab.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
chiefdave

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
The usual high quality journalism from the CT. An article headlined 'GP on how to tell the difference between the 'worst lurgy ever' and Covid' contains this stunning advise.
Getting a Covid test is key to distinguishing between the cold and coronavirus according to Dr Wall, who said: "It's a really difficult one because you can’t tell the difference. That’s the problem.
Click to expand...
 
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