In A Nutshell

[Sqad]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2325820/Airline-pilots-pizza-delivery-boys-work-hours-How-arrogant-GPs-think-beneath-them.html

A combination of greedy workshy doctors and an arrogant but naive Labour Government negotiated a new contract for GP's with the B.M.A which gave them no on call and more money.

The vocation and art of medicine has been sacrificed for "ticked boxes and statistics."

[excelsior-1]

agreed, it is pathetic

[boxtops]

well written. I agree, the GP contract involves a huge amount of box ticking and target reaching in order to be paid by the DH. However - the fact that all GP surgeries had to register with the Care Quality Commission by 1 April has added to the box-ticking-target load. Everything target-driven. For some, good - for some who were already doing it - more work for the practice manager (who is inevitably the form-filler, not the GP).

[anotheoldgit]

Most services have to work a 24 hour work patten why should Doctors be different?

I wonder how they would go on if their house was on fire, and there was no one to come to their aid because Firemen refused to work a 24 hour work scheduled?

[Gromit]

Agreed.

I am fed up with being mithered all the time to attend the doctors for flu jabs, blood tests, weighing, yearly check etc. When I am really ill and need an appointment, they can't see you for weeks.

Problem is, the Government are frightened of the doctors. Labour at least tried to renegotiate, even if the BMA ran rings around them. I can't see the present lot tackling this problem.

[biggleswade]

agree especially with gromit.

[bazwillrun]

My GP recently told me that him and some of his friends are more scared of not putting a tick in the right place/box and all the other admin requirements (most not for medical reasons or even pertinent to the patient), than misdiagnosing patients and as a result of this and all the other bureaucracy foisted on them by government and "practice managers" are retiring early as possible

[bednobs]

hmm, except if someone said to me "do you want to work less hours but get more money" i think i'd probably say yes too!

[emmie]

totally agree. Our GP has taken on so many more patients, that they really don't cope, they have more GP's in the practice, but it takes weeks now to get an appointment, as to Harmoni, they are a bloody joke. I had to struggle to get to an out of hours place half an hour away, to find one woman doctor on call, who incidentally had the flu, can you beat that.

[New Judge]

The blame for the out-of-hours fiasco lies firmly at the door of the Blair government and has been exacerbated by lack of action from the latest motley crew.

In 2004 they negotiated a new contract with GPs ostensibly because there were some areas of inner cities where there was shortage of doctors. Part of this contract (apart from virtually doubling GP’s pay) was that practices were freed to place the responsibility for out-of-hours treatment to Primary Healthcare Trusts.

The fruits of this folly are now coming home to roost. With the problem compounded by the huge population growth in some areas out-of-hours primary care is now provided by agency locums, some earning a preposterous sum of money - some taking in excess of £1,300 for a nine hour shift. The ridiculous NHS 111 service is a total shambles, people cannot get out-of-hours care and so pitch up at A&E departments because there is no other alternative. These are thus becoming overwhelmed with people who have not had accidents or warrant emergency treatment but need some medical help before 9am on Monday morning. Meantime there is still a shortage of GPs in the same areas (all the money in the world will not persuade doctors to work in some of these places) and the bill for primary care has more than doubled in under a decade.

Health is a 24/7 business but its practitioners have been allowed, with the complicity of the government, to turn it into a 9-5 organisation with little practical alternative to A&E. Part of the blame must rest with the doctors but if you were offered the chance to work less hours for double the money what would you do?