Gp Surgery - Open All Hours

[MWG14]

A GP Surgery in Northampton has obtained planning permission to stay open from 8.00am until 8.00pm, seven days a week.

You would think that the patients would be delighted but no, neighbours are complaining.

Well you just can't please everybody all of the time, can you?

[pixie374]

A 24 hour surgery 7 days a week would work better, sqad. It would save a lot of A&E visitors, long-term health needs and the ludicrous 111 system which we once tried to use for my granddaughter, to find that apparently not a single trained person in Bucks is allowed to put a bandage on a child's finger on a Sunday. I did it myself in the end, but we wanted it checked because it was crushed.

[Sqad]

pixie...it would work well for the patients, but i doubt whether the GP's would be very chuffed and also with the diminishing numbers of GP's due to retirement and the difficulty in finding replacements, who is going to staff these hours?

[pixie374]

Maybe they shouldn't pay them so much that they all retire early :-). As far as I am aware, sqad, mess schools are full and have huge competition to get into, so I'm not entirely sure why we waste so much money with the NHS, but not in training staff.

[pixie374]

Most of these types of jobs are shiftwork, sqad. That generally works.

[pixie374]

Med school... autocorrect, sorry.

[Sqad]

pixie....I think you mean Med schools LOL.
Problem is that over the past 10-20 years, med schools have increased the percentage of female students and more female doctors qualify.
Many, the majority, have their babies, take time off and when they come back, they avoid the front line jobs and go for the 9-5 cushy clinic jobs..........which really is not much help.

[wolf63]

I don't know what the gender balance is for GPs but with Vets, it is 70% (ish) female to male. The ladies are sometimes part-time due to childcare and I know that my own surgery has at least two part-time GPs.

I saw my GP a couple of weeks ago but that was in the Supermarket - probably doesn't count as an appointment.

[douglas9401]

Along with all the stuff that's required to go a-doctorin a crash course in time management should be in there.

An 8:00am appointment at my surgery never EVER happens at the designated time, a 20 minute wait is not unusual. This then rolls on through the day leaving us all bewildered by the notices declaring that if a patient is more than ten minutes late in attending they will not be seen.
Seems more of a management issue than a medical one.

[pixie374]

Thank God for that, sqad. I saw 6 male GPs before a female recognised and understood my postnatal depression. We need roughly 50/50 as that's what patients are... it isn't really relevant to work though.

[Sqad]

douglas.....exactly right.

pixie.....can't comment as i don't know the details.

[pixie374]

If GPs worked shiftwork and we had plenty of part-time ones to cover each other, wouldn't that work better? Otherwise, when one is off for any reason, it is a big disruption for the whole surgery. I just wasn't exactly sure of your point, sqad x

[Sqad]

pixie...my point is that the NHS is short of GP's full time and part time and by the looks of things is going to get worse as practices fail to attract GP's to staff the present set up.
How can we expand this to a 7 day 24 hour service with depleted personnel?

[pixie374]

Well... we have huge competition for people wanting to train as GPs, so we need to somehow make it possible to train more of them. As I said, we are happy to waste money neverendingly on unwanted appointments and medication etc, but then can't afford the staff

[Sqad]

pixie...that is excellent for your area, but it is not representative of the country as a whole.

https://www.theweek.co.uk/nhs/93971/why-are-so-many-doctors-planning-to-quit

I picked this for you as it makes easy reading on the problem.

[pixie374]

Thanks sqad x easy reading especially as I struggle with reading? Lol. The reasons they give are the same we know need addressing, they seem to agree.

[EDDIE51]

My surgery has 'Practice Nurses' highly trained but not to 'Full Doctor' standard . For most appointments you just get to see a Practice Nurse. They can even prescribe some types of medication !

[Baldric]

Do you mean Emergency Nurse Practictioners Eddie?

[MWG14]

I try to book the first appointment of the day with my GP. If I get to the surgery and clock in 10mins early, you can guarantee that my name will come up on the screen immediately and I will be on my way out before the designated start time of my appointment.

[tamborine]

When I am sick I cant work & any app will do as I will be at home.

[EDDIE51]

Baldric . 'Practice Nurse' is what my surgery calls them !