Doctors

[Maisie1]

Quite a few people have issues with their GP. I for one get sick of hearing them moan. I know they are busy and some of the patients can be challenging but they know what to expect when they take the job. They are on a good salary and like consultants can earn a lot of money doing private or locum work. If they hate it that much they could always get another job. When I was younger we had one doctor for the area. He did a surgery, home visits and delivered babies. It's like people going into nursing and complaining of unsocial hours and because they have young children wanting every Christmas off. Sorry I am on my band wagon again.

[Tabby-Cat]

I have to say that my GP is great. He is always very sympathetic and supportive, and when I had my ESA assessment their doctor told me that my GP had written a detailed and very supportive report about me. All the GPs at my practice are good and I've never been made to feel a nuisance or a time waster. The receptionists, on the other hand, never listen properly to what's being said to them and rarely get any request right first time. They're the ones that drive me mad!

[Greenpeace in reply to Tabby-Cat]

I have to also say I've no complaints about my Dr. I attend a surgery where 8 Drs practice, 4 are Partners, 2 Associates, and there are always 2 locums who are are hospital Registrars, doing a yrs practice as a GP to see if they like it.

I have my usual Dr, who whilst not very clued up on Fibro, always asks " what are your thoughts" on whatever problem I might have. She is always ready to prescribe something, and if necessary give a referral, if she thinks it will help. It is a busy Practice, but you can see the duty Dr the same day if needed, after speaking to him/her first on the phone. We also have an on the premises Pharmacy. The Receptionists are reasonably good at their job.

I can book appointments on-line, request my repeat prescriptions on-line, and I've got access to my medical records as well.

We have a Patient Participation Group, where volunteers of different age groups meet to discuss any problems they may have received, or any improvements that they think might help the Practice. These are discussed, and then put to the partners to act upon.

The surgery is by no means perfect, but there are various ways displayed in the surgery, including iPads, where you can give a review of your experience. You can remain anonymous if you want.

Most GP practices have a web-site, and if you do a search on Google/Safari, you can see your GPs site. On my Drs site there is a section saying that Government says that NHS doctors have to make public their salaries. When I found out how much they earn, considering having paid University fees for 6/7yrs, paid to set up surgery, Legal Insurance, compulsory further training to keep up to date, and the long hours, they don't earn "the fortune" that a lot of people think they do. Our surgery is open Mon - Fri 8am - 6.30pm. one day a week it opens at 7am. they also do house calls.

I have had a few problems in the past, but I spoke out about them, sometimes it was my fault, having the wrong idea about how things were being done, and why, sometimes it was their fault, but they were dealt with.

I don't know if any of you are aware, but there is a big shortage of GPs. As it takes many years to train new ones, we are feeling the effect of this particularly in certain areas.

Sorry for the long post, but as many of us are dissatisfied with our GPs it might help to show that there are GP practices who do a good job, and it might encourage members to speak up, or if necessary go to another Dr or practice.

Take care everyone.

GP. 😊😊

[peck]

Maisie, I must say I totally agree with you, and this should include any profession. Have a nice day . Peck.🐤

[Dizzytwo Moderator]

I couldn't agree with you more. The doctors of today could never match up to the doctors in my youth thats for sure.

Our doc worked 6 days a week for a start. Now have its down to 5 and in some surgeries 4and half this was in practise at my last doctors.

House calls I am sure many new doctors have never heard of this. The house call was all part of the service when I was a kid. As for getting an appointment to even see a doctor these days is a joke for many sick people.

Now they are saying if you don't see your Doctor within 5 years you get booted off their list. What a joke that one is. It take 5 years to get in to see a Doctor.

Ok i'm going to stop there. I am having a steak meal it's our wedding anniversary today and dont want the old blood pressure to go up I may need to call a Doctor !!

Mo

[Maisie1]

My present surgery is good but where my sister works it is 4 weeks to see a doctor. That is why people go to A+E.

[Tabby-Cat in reply to Maisie1]

I would never go to A&E unless it was a genuine emergency. If it's not an emergency then it can wait until I can see my GP. I think too many people want instant gratification nowadays. They want everything now, but they need to learn that sometimes you can't have what you want immediately and that it doesn't kill you to wait (literally!).

[TerryT1]

My doc has retired now. The problem with him was that he blew hot and cold. You really never knew where you were when you went in. Many times he was wonderful, but other times he didn't seem to care much and gave the impression of just wanting me to go away. Doctors are human also and perhaps he had problems of his own I would not know about.

It certainly made him difficult to talk to, so whenever I had something really important to tell him, I ended up writing to him 7 days before visiting him. Making an appointment was easy and I get so shocked reading of others who have to wait two weeks and things like that. Mine was usually three days, two if you were lucky.

The more patients a doctor has, the more they get paid. So doctors now are starting out with lots and lots of debt. You can work for a practice and be paid very little, especially with all that debt to pay off. Or you can become a partner and get a share of the profits. BUT you have to buy that partnership and it costs an enormous amount of money.

So the pressure is really on them to take as many patients as they possibly can to pay off the loans and to get a partnership so they can get more money and pay off more of the loans. Tey do get a lot of money, but are not particularly wealthy because of all the debt. You can really only start to be comfortably off when you are in your 30s or 40s. But then again, so do most people. The difference is if you can keep working until you are in your 60s, your loans are paid off and you can take less patients and relax more, or keep seeing more patents and put aside a very substantial nest egg indeed. Not only that, but when you retire, you get to sell your partnership for a lot of money if your practice has done well.

If their health fails though, they can be in a terrible mess. It is a bit of a gamble. You might have bought a partnership in a practice, only for the area to become unpopular and many people move out. Or one of your other partners is not much good and patients move themselves to other practices! You can sell your share and try starting again somewhere else, but your share now will most likely be worth less than you paid for it, and possibly still are paying for it. That's my understanding of how it works. Quite interesting really, a bit like being a one-person business and a little like being part of a franchise.

[TheAuthor]

I agree with you completely my friend. However, I have been seeing a new young GP at our surgery and she has been a breath of fresh air and nothing is too much trouble for her.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken

[Midori]

A GP doesn't get as much as you might think. He has to set up his Surgery, which costs hundreds of thousand of pounds, and he gets a set amount from the Government per patient on his books. This is the reason GPs tend to collect into partnerships these days, in order to share the costs of set up, replacement and maintenance of their equipment and the buildings their surgeries are housed in, not to mention the security of their medical pharmaceutical products. When you think of their years of training, the costs of repaying their Med student loans, setup and maintenance costs, Fees to Medical bodies such as the general Medical Council, Massive insurance fees for Public Liability and Medical Protection Insurance, staff salaries for the receptionists and nurses they have to employ, Workplace pensions, Income and Corporation Tax, Business rates, etc., they don't come out as well off as would appear at first glance. They also have to employ locums at exorbitant Agency rates to cover sickness and holidays.

[hebden]

Hi hope everyone is as well as they can be.

Used to have to wait 2 to 3 weeks for an appointment. Now can't get an appointment at all as I don't even have a doctor!

The only Gp at my surgery has left so now its closing. Not much updated info given to patients so feeling a bit lost and not feeling good so finding it hard to deal with. I registered at another surgery 2 weeks ago and I still don't know if they have accepted me onto their books. A&E may be my only option if I don't hear soon if I have a GP.

[Maisie1 in reply to hebden]

That's the problem people are going to A+E because they can't get to see their GP so these depts are crowded. You can't win