• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Are GP's "paid"?

donnellysdogs

donnellysdogs

Master
Messages
13,233
Location
Northampton
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People that can't listen to other people's opinions.
People that can't say sorry.
Sunday Mail article reads that Gp's are still being paid to prescribe aspirin... And because of this "some" are doing so against the current guidelines of medical advice.....

With GP's being paid to hit targets of cholesterol levels, bmi, blood pressure etc can we be 100% sure that GP's are unbiased towards the drugs and advice we are all being issued with?

Sure, I know that GP's are meant to follow a "duty of care" but the mors they have incentives and targets, the less I hear of them actually listening to people that have found ways (lchf) to live well!!

The Sunday Mail article regarding aspirin made me think more so today on our Patient "listening" and prescribing than anything else in a long time.

Are our GP's ignoring us Patients, because of the way the NHS payment schemes are now set up?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
donnellysdogs said:
With GP's being paid to hit targets of cholesterol levels, bmi, blood pressure etc can we be 100% sure that GP's are unbiased towards the drugs and advice we are all being issued with?
Click to expand...

No.
 
It's a fair point. I think GPs are a well meaning bunch and generally with a lot of integrity. But with all that pressure on targets it is almost a no brainer for them to chuck that pill - statin or whatever - at anyone who might* be a risk of becoming an off-target statistic and who *might* respond to that drug.
 
I think that's the crux of the problem - they are too focussed on prescribing drugs and not diverting from NICE guidance for legal reasons that the opportunity to discuss the patient's real needs is lost, or worse the existence of DNs is used as an excuse not to bother. This to me is an abrogation of responsibility.
 
sanguine said:
I think that's the crux of the problem - they are too focussed on prescribing drugs and not diverting from NICE guidance for legal reasons that the opportunity to discuss the patient's real needs is lost, or worse the existence of DNs is used as an excuse not to bother. This to me is an abrogation of responsibility.
Click to expand...

So agree Sanguine...



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
i dont know the answers but i know somethings wrong when there are millions of badly controlled diabetics out there yet when the doctor encounters one that is well controlled they dont even ask what method i have used to control it, i didnt need to spend years in medical school to have the sense to ask me some questions, i would like to believe this is a conspiracy theory but its hard not to think there isnt some truth in the idea that they are given incentives to follow certain pathways of care
 
GPs are self-employed and offer their services to the NHS. Mostly they are over-worked, cover too wide a range of conditions and have little time to keep updated or learn from their patients. In addition they are bombarded by drug company marketing and NHS targets. Can you trust them; well sometimes. Most of us who have diabetes for at least a few years know that we have to educate ourselves in some depth on our condition and be prepared to challenge and be assertive. We may not have anywhere the breadth of knowledge of a GP but we can sometimes have more depth of knowledge on a narrow condition.
 
Totally agree Daibell. I wish personally that they had normal standardised pay rates without being target driven incentives... And that drug companies could not influence their decisions.

GP's are mainly self employed businesses and need their incomes..but I don't currently personally see them as always acting in my best health with their not listening to me about statin side effects etc.

Its a complicated world, and incentives (ie bankers) make people greedy and less interested in the publics general wellbeing.. Whether financial or health).

I have to admit if I could get extra income from offering a certain product ( greedy bankers) or gp's-I think I may be tempted...

However as a gardener I have the incentive of a good garden or not!!!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Keep in mind that the main incentives are there for achieving targets based on people with certain conditions, such as diabetes, being seen regularly and having various health indicators checked.

Now, personally, I support this. If I was a GP then I'm afraid my attitude would be one of seeing those who wanted to come in and keep appointments and look after themselves, and not fill my time with people who don't care. I recognise, however, that in a modern society like ours we shouldn't give up on people and should give them every opportunity so if incentives help this I am all for it.
 
No idea what the payment structure is like for gp's, however I believe in most cases they have our best interests at heart, my own surgery only has 5 & 10 mins appointments (mostly 5) which leaves little time to tell your life story.

Around 3 years ago my cholesterol went slightly over the recommended target range and my diabetes consultant suggested statins and wrote to my gp to write a prescription for them, my gp however disagreed and said statins were not necessary as my previous results were fine and my latest were just borderline (I'd also recently just had an agiogram which was all clear), so not all gp's are willing to push statins and other drugs just for the sake of it without reviewing the patients records.
 
I was feeling very tired and with blood testing myself found that my levels were a lot higher than what i usually had. They were late teens and twenties ,i saw the gp in january he did fbc but my nurse said i will do your hba1c as well. When i telephoned for my results the hba1c wasnt there the receptionist telephoned me back and said the gp had stopped the test being sent to the lab and that i could have it taken in april...... just into the new financial year so my level for that year was in the guidelines at 52 but really when i had my test done i was 73, now i am under a consultant. really my health should come before incentives. I dont feel looked after really, but what can you do when gp,s are self employed and only answer to themselves if i say what i want to say i would get struck off. The goverment need to stop the points make prizes system. us nhs patients pay through our taxes we shouldnt have to pay with our lives.
 
Back
Top