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Off Topic Covid 19 restrictions have done one

Discussion in 'Hull City' started by dennisboothstash, Oct 29, 2020.

  1. Idi Amin

    Idi Amin Well-Known Member

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    I could Google this...

    But when are GPs to ALL be fully open? I have an 18 month old who is a walking ailment sponge. I know some are open, but my docs is everything over the phone or sending pictures. I find myself having to use walk in clinics.
     
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  2. Plum

    Plum Well-Known Member

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    Not aware of any plan as such. I read last week that govt was providing funds so that surgeries could employ locums to increase the number of face to face appointments but more than that I don't know.
    I suspect some of the changes the pandemic has brought about with respect to GP's will remain in place for a long time. The system as it was before wasn't really working well and needed an overhaul, pandemic may just have accelerated that process.

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/2021/10/plan-set-out-to-improve-access-for-nhs-patients-and-support-gps/
     
    #5482
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2021
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  3. Chazz Rheinhold

    Chazz Rheinhold Well-Known Member

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    If gp’s have their way never. Obviously this makes me a conspiracy theorist down the rabbit hole etc etc
     
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  4. Idi Amin

    Idi Amin Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the response. I would argue its worse now.
     
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  5. Plum

    Plum Well-Known Member

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    Completely agree, it'll be a work in progress for years to come.
     
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  6. Idi Amin

    Idi Amin Well-Known Member

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    Lets hope it does not take too long. Maybe I have a personal lens on this, but how can not being prepared to see children (who can't really tell you what's wrong) just be OK. Obviously you can go to walk ins...but they are simply flooded with people.
     
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  7. brownbagtiger

    brownbagtiger Well-Known Member

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    We’ve got a low ratio of GPs to population compared to other western countries to start with. They’ve retreated because they know if they or their staff catch COVID they can’t provide any care at all, whereas tele-consulting is better than nothing.

    There could be a lot more imaginative things going on - clinics for people with respiratory illnesses staffed with double jabbed, low risk doctors and nurses, separate times or entrances. Other times for other appointments - lumps, rashes, pains, mental health, maternity etc.

    The NHS simply doesn’t have the staff or facilities to do it. They’re in basic firefight mode - they were on the edge before the pandemic and that’s just exposed how run down it’s become.
     
    #5487
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  8. Gone For A Walk

    Gone For A Walk Well-Known Member

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    .... and locums cost a fortune, not just for the doctor but the agencies creaming it. The system is a(n expensive) mess.
     
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  9. Chazz Rheinhold

    Chazz Rheinhold Well-Known Member

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    There could certainly be a screening programme at gp surgeries because they do get the repeat customers with every fake ailment going but gp’s in the main are very weak with these people. Then see the ones who really need to be seen face to face.
    But as I said earlier they don’t ever want to go back to seeing face to face.
     
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  10. Kalman

    Kalman Well-Known Member

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    The NHS has been short-staffed and underfunded in key areas for years. The pandemic was just the the flame that lit the fuse. It’s why I can’t take the government seriously when they said ‘Protect the NHS’. No, that’s your job, not citizens who already pay their taxes and NI contributions.
     
    #5490

  11. balkan tiger

    balkan tiger Well-Known Member

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    Short staffed and under funded, the NHS has 1.4 million employees and a budget of 100 billion.

    I think they need to get the time and motion men in.
     
    #5491
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  12. highpeak tiger

    highpeak tiger Well-Known Member

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    I rang up to see a doctor in Brid for a fairly long standing (but hardly life threatening) problem. Had to wait about 3 weeks for a telephone conversation (which I thought was a bit much) but after the conversation, the doctor saw me (face to face) the next day. Promptly referred me to a specialist (about 3 weeks wait) with a follow diagnostic test in a fortnight. After the initial wait, I thought the rest was brilliant (probably helped I was double vacced for Covid and had had flu vacc as well). Obviously some patients and conditions can be evaluated over the phone but most can't. If doctors use common sense then OK but you can't beat a face to face consultation.
     
    #5492
  13. Ron Burguvdy

    Ron Burguvdy Well-Known Member

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    The NHS is having a major / massive change next spring which I'm surprised hasn't been picked up by the press yet.
    Big roll back of privatisation and competition which has caused as many problems as it helped (organisations not working together or during the pandemic only working to their 'contacts'.) Much bigger regional commissioning rather than lots of smaller local ones (with many chiefs etc), also legal duty or powers(?) to cooperate. Someone did try to explain it to me - the more they explained the less I understood :) Overall though could be as big as Community Care changes in the 90's

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/what-is-integrated-care/
     
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  14. Ernie Shackleton

    Ernie Shackleton Well-Known Member

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    The key infastuctures in this country, including the NHS, education, transport and food production, are all at crisis point, especially regarding staff training and recruitment, illustrated by the fact that all four of those areas have recently put in place schemes to attract people who have left the professions, back in.

    This is always the panic reaction when projections show a significant future shortfall in staffing.


    Why have we reached this point? I can't give my opinion as it would breach the site rules.
     
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  15. RayVonn

    RayVonn Active Member

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    1970 42 GPS per 100,000 in UK now 59 per 100,000. Used to get home visits and checks in 1970 and could just walk in and wait for an appointment.
     
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  16. Kalman

    Kalman Well-Known Member

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    Good if true. The NHS receives inadequate funding for frontline staff like doctors and nurses as well as lower admin staff who do a lot of the boring but important work to keep the whole thing ticking over. What they do spend ridiculous money on is the bloated top-level bureaucracy and dodgy contracts with the private sector. This is what allows them to say ‘we’ve allocated more to NHS budgets than any other government in British history’, despite it being wasted on ****e whilst other areas are neglected.
     
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  17. brownbagtiger

    brownbagtiger Well-Known Member

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    Healthcare and society has changed a lot in the last 50 years. Instead of looking backwards, look outwards. In 2017 "Out of the 33 countries for which the OECD has provided data, the UK ranks 22nd (fig 1⇓). The only European countries with fewer doctors per head of population are Poland and Slovenia". https://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2940
     
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  18. Edelman

    Edelman Well-Known Member

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    I'm lucky as my Docs sees you .
    I've been in 4 times since July which is good but lots are struggling it must be frustrating
     
    #5498
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  19. dennisboothstash

    dennisboothstash Well-Known Member

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    They are seeing people face to face of course, and the phone call/video call etc is effectively the screening you mention, but the tolerance/trigger level and staffing levels is what is determining whether someone actually gets seen in person
    Not saying they’ve got that right at all, although personally I’d prefer a video call (if I was ever ill, which I’m not due to my body being a temple…)
    I’m sure they’d like to partly stay like this at least and never go back to how it was like before though.
    Big issues is there’s not enough Doctors in the area and while they’re all paid decent money the ones that were partners in surgeries used to get a lot and now the contract is different so they might as well just float or go as locus, which doesn’t help consistency or actually caring about a particular surgery

    IMHO
     
    #5499
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  20. dennisboothstash

    dennisboothstash Well-Known Member

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    It is huge change
    Despite being aware and slightly engaged on the periphery I’m yet to be convinced whether it will improve things, and even the reduction in Chiefs is partly outweighed by the levels of salary of the main one.
    TWT though
     
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