GP Services

[Daisy]

... or more accurately, a lack of GP services.

My friend M has a neighbour in her 90s living alone. Her son lives some distance away but is currently away with his job.

A few days ago the elderly lady phoned M and asked if she could get her some milk when she went out. The neighbour wasn't well. M asked a few questions and thought she might have Covid. She put a test kit through her letterbox, but the Neighbour couldn't do it. M suggested she phoned the surgery for advice. The surgery's response - "everyone can do a test" Basically, get on with it.

Eventually via 111 a courier helped her with it and it came back positive. By now the lady was feeling very poorly indeed. She was struggling to get out of bed and wasn't eating. M phoned the surgery again and they told her that when the lady becomes really ill she'll call 999! They couldn't help - they don't 'do' Covid!

Surely there comes a point when common humanity dictates that whatever 'rules' the surgery are operating by, they would take pity on a very elderly patient who doesn't want to be a nuisance, but is really struggling. I find it hard to believe that primary care has sunk to such depths.

[Gemini]

Daisy that is awful, a lady that age, and thank goodness for your friend M being a caring Good Samaritan.
I hope that poor lady recovers and doesn't get any more poorly.


I think a lot of us feel that our GP surgeries have washed their hands of us, and message is more or less Get on with it and look after yourself.

[Nanto2girls]

Words fail me Daisy. Ridiculous isn't it.

[Daisy]

Nanto - I thought it was downright callous. It's as though they were just casting her aside. I feel sick, sad and angry about it.

[Lizzie48]

You will feel sick and angry Daisy, it is disgusting, I think that is part of my BIL's problem, he can't get to see his GP, in fact, it was the same with my poor sister when she was ill.

[Oma]

That is shocking , its a case of they are old they don't matter .
Its about time Drs were made to see patients again , what are they getting paid for these days

[Daisy]

It's no wonder people are flocking to A&E instead, or calling an ambulance.

[Plantaholic]

That is a serious case of neglect Daisy, outrageous.

I had an appt this afternoon with my surgery and lo and behold I had a face to face consultation with a real doctor. He felt he was a bit out of his depth about my rash so called in the dermatologist, she saw it some weeks ago and felt they had not got to the bottom of it, she now thinks it is a type of eczema so changed the treatment. I asked the doctor if he would be staying with the practice and he said only until January. I was very impressed with the way he dealt with my problem.

[Daisy]

Plant - how good to hear you saw a real doctor, face to face, but isn't it sad that's not the norm any more!

[Lizzie48]

We can go to our GP daily to 5pm, after that and at the weekends there is a 'doctors post" at the local hospitals, it is run by all the doctors out of the area and they take it in turns to do the evening/weekend shifts, in fact I think it was one of my doctors years ago that started the project. We have to phone and tell them what the problem is then they will decide whether or not you have to go to the doctors post. They also decide whether or not to send you to A&E. If it is urgent we phone the emergency service of course.

Plant, I hope the eczema soon clears, I had it on my toes last year, legs as well, luckily with the cream it has healed, if it does start to play up again I put the cream on and it soon clears.

[WeeGranny]

Sadly that doesn't surprise me Daisy. Our surgery has been in special measures for over a year now and the service just gets worse. A new town is being built on the old airfield in the village and there are no plans for any medical centre in the plans for the first lot of new houses.....over a thousand! Guess where the new occupants will be going for their medical care or lack of it? DD phoned them when OH was admitted to the care home and was told very brusquely that he was no longer a patient there and they couldn't discuss him. No sorry to see him go or even how was he? Unfortunately I am still a patient there!

It was quite frightening to see the number of people attending A&E while were there, but they do have a clinic next door where non-urgent cases are sent to rather than sitting waiting to be seen in A&E for hours.

The days of caring surgery staff seem to be on the way out in lots of places.

I do hope M's neighbour recovers well. Plant hope your new cream clears the rash.

[Daisy]

I've just had a browse round our surgeries' website. I was struck by the passage on Accessible Information Standard which is apparently being implemented by the NHS. It's to make it easier to support for patients with special communication needs. It's one sentence of SIXTY-TWO words.

[Plantaholic]

There were three receptionists on duty yesterday, usually there would be two or even one. their load is certainly greater. We are lucky that we have four receptionists and only one can be a bit snooty.

[Daisy]

Sadly that doesn't surprise me Daisy. Our surgery has been in special measures for over a year now and the service just gets worse. A new town is being built on the old airfield in the village and there are no plans for any medical centre in the plans for the first lot of new houses.....over a thousand! Guess where the new occupants will be going for their medical care or lack of it? DD phoned them when OH was admitted to the care home and was told very brusquely that he was no longer a patient there and they couldn't discuss him. No sorry to see him go or even how was he? Unfortunately I am still a patient there!

It was quite frightening to see the number of people attending A&E while were there, but they do have a clinic next door where non-urgent cases are sent to rather than sitting waiting to be seen in A&E for hours.

The days of caring surgery staff seem to be on the way out in lots of places.

I do hope M's neighbour recovers well. Plant hope your new cream clears the rash.

Just to update you on my friend M's elderly neighbour. Eventually she was admitted to hospital, feeling very poorly. At this point my friend M lost track of her a bit as M had an accident - she got her middle finger on her right hand caught in an automatic-closing door and took the tip off. Cutting a long short short, she ended up in hospital overnight, and they have to wait for it to heal before deciding what to do next. Without being too gory, all the bone is intact.

Anyway I saw her a couple of days ago and asked about her neighbour. She is home and ok but, despite the "positive" Covid test, she didn't have Covid - it was pneumonia. Presumably if she had been seen by a GP they would have been able to differentiate between the two and had her admitted to the right part of the hospital!

[Gemini]

I hope she's recovering well Daisy.

I am going to have a moan about our GP practice!
I haven't bothered them about anything since the beginning of the pandemic. I know they are coping with covid and that none urgent cases are not being seen.

However, my arthritic knee has been very painful, which affects my back and now I also have plantar fasciitis on the foot opposite to my worse knee.
Walking can be difficult and painful. Some days are much better than others. It affects my life and affects what OH and I can do together.

I saw the musculoskeletal department at the hospital a few weeks before the first lockdown. I had already had physio which not only didn't help but actually gave me terrible back pain the next day. So much so OH had to do my mum's shopping that day as I couldn't walk around a supermarket. Anyway I was given a cortisone injection in my knee. It helped slightly for a couple of weeks. Then we all went into lockdown

So much time has passed now and I feel it has got much worse. Not helped I know by lockdown weight gain.
I want to give the injection another try. In the end we feel we will have to pay for my knee replacement privately (which we can ill afford) as in my health authority no one gets any non-essential surgery with a BMI which is too high. In other health districts this is not the case, but it is here.

You have to go online to book a GP appointment. The website says you MAY hear back within four weeks with an appointment. But it's not simply booking one. You have to mark on a map of the human body where the problem is (Plant had had this same experience) Then answer lots of questions. Then list all the days and times it is NOT convenient for someone to phone you.
I explained all about my condition and how it is affecting me, and that I didn't need to see anyone, but to have a phone appointment with a GP in order to be referred the MSK department at the hospital to see about another injection.

I did all that yesterday. Last night I had a text message saying my case had been reviewed by a 'clinician' and they recommend I self refer to the physio department, then wait several weeks for an appointment with a physio. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! I KNOW I can do that, that is NOT what I want or need

I think it is going to become like The States, where you can only get treatment if you can pay for it. Like them I think people here will need to have health insurance, as the NHS is letting us down.

I was so down about this yesterday, but I am OK now. I am looking into the possibility of having the injection privately for now.
I have also had to go online and buy Omeprazole. One of the side effects of the cancer drug OH and I take can be acid reflux indigestion. OH has been on Omeprazole to counter this for some years as she has been on the drug longer than I have. Now I am having the same symptoms. Gaviscon and the like doesn't help much, but Omeprazole (from OH) does. I find it I take it for few days it's OK for while.
I can't expect her to share hers with me, as she needs it daily.
Having no chance of even a phone appointment with a Dr, I ordered myself a months supply at £19.99. Half the price of Boots, but it should be free to me on the NHS

I am a strong supporter of the NHS and if we have a heart attack or cancer you cannot fault them. Anything at the moment seems to be Go away and Look after yourself.