What is happening with our nhs

lucylocket61 said:

Where do you live, roughly?

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Norwich !

In Response said:

I think you are generalising based on your personal experience.
I have seen a GP the day after I called for an appointment, had retinal scans, had face to face meeting with my diabetes team.
I have also received a test about the upcoming flu jab and covid boost.

To be honest, I prefer the phone consultations to sitting in a waiting room full of ill people waiting for a late appointment.
I have been amazed how well my local NHS have managed during such a horrendous pandemic.

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And you aren't expressing your personal, subjective experience? The original post was asking about people's experiences. Not sure how that's generalising. Sure they have their own opinion, as do you. Sometimes that can even be critical.

I've gotta say my GPs were great before and they're great now. Referrals to specialists, which a family members have needed, had a painfully slow start, leading to prolonged and severe pain until they finally got into the system. Since then, they've been amazing.

The relative in question is housebound and so they were doing some telephone consultations with them already before the pandemic. However, they were very generous with the home visits, the relative got weekly visits from the district nurses during the pandemic, and now they're stable, the GP will still visit if they think they need to. On the borderline suspicion of emergency, they had her in ambulatory care the same afternoon, three more appointments for scans within the 10 days that followed, and for the latter two, the relative booked their own hospital transport so I wouldn't need to go with them.

One day, the GP surgery rang us up to ask if they could come round and give the relative their flu shot. I asked them to do the whole household, and they did.

I'm much happier with phone consultations anyway, and I certainly wouldn't want to have to constantly schlep a relative with limited mobility to the surgery, where there's limited parking and what there is is perilous to back into.

As for me, the way I found out I had prediabetes was that I rang up about a seemingly trivial, but strangely persistent cosmetic problem that was still there months after stopping a particular medication. The GP asked me to see them in person the same day, did all the blood tests, and a week later, got me to book a telephone consultation to explain that I had prediabetes. They were even perfectly happy to treat the cosmetic problem I presented with, even though it was, in fact, trivial and unrelated to the prediabetes.

Another good thing about telemedicine: I had a lesion on my leg which the GP had previously said was benign, but it seemed to be growing. Talked to GP, sent pictures over on their SMS service, and got a routine referral to dermatology four months later. I show up to dermatology, get seen within 5 minutes of my appointment time, and they confirm that it is 100% benign and I will never need to worry about it again as long as I live.

It hasn't always been this good. I have a genuine horror story from the early 2000s which I won't talk about here. But the quality of communication is critical to the quality of service (at that time, they were still using couriers to transfer scan results between hospitals in different cities, which I don't think they do as much now), and in that respect, I think opening more channels for communication has only improved matters.

I acknowledge that we must be extremely lucky with our local authority, and the GP service in particular. I think a lot of other places, and maybe some surgeries in the same area, don't operate like the well-oiled machine that we've been enjoying. I would absolutely never argue that my household's experience cancels out someone else's. I do, however, think that telemedicine is a great way to augment the efficiency of an already efficient system.

coby said:

Your post has interested me donnellysdogs for a number of reasons. I have a severe telephone anxiety, so it would be impossible for me to do a phone or even a video appt with anyone.

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I am really sorry to hear that. Does your GP service know you have this problem and that it's a barrier to your communicating with them? My own surgery has a website that I can use to message them, as well as SystmOnline AND an app that's just rolled out, which I haven't tried. Does your GP have any channel you can use to write to them what you've just written to us? They might have some way you can consult with them over a text medium.

NoMoreSugarBaby said:

I am really sorry to hear that. Does your GP service know you have this problem and that it's a barrier to your communicating with them? My own surgery has a website that I can use to message them, as well as SystmOnline AND an app that's just rolled out, which I haven't tried. Does your GP have any channel you can use to write to them what you've just written to us? They might have some way you can consult with them over a text medium.

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Hi @NoMoreSugarBaby . Yes, I have written to the Practice Manager at my GP practice now and she has made a note of my phone phobia

coby said:

Hi @NoMoreSugarBaby . Yes, I have written to the Practice Manager at my GP practice now and she has made a note of my phone phobia

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Just to add from my previous post, as you are aware, I live not too far away from you according to previous posts!
So far, in the last couple of weeks, I have had a GP phone appointment, a face to face GP appointment, a phone assessment on my mental health, two face to face counselling sessions. A hospital appointment and a couple of footie games!
You should be able to get appointments that suit you!
And mask wearing is compulsory in all medical centres!

Even though covid rates are on the rise again!

I have not had a face to face with my diabetes team for 3 and a half years . I have had 1 blood test so have no idea what’s going on. 2 phone call appointments which lasted 4 minutes just asking how I was and asking if my blood results were good or bad. I am 70 this year and have been type 1 for 50 years of my life. I think either I’m too old to invest nhs money in or they trust me after 50 years to know what I’m doing. I hope it’s the latter !

coby said:

Hi @NoMoreSugarBaby . Yes, I have written to the Practice Manager at my GP practice now and she has made a note of my phone phobia

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I have phone phobia too! It was worst during lockdown when the practice wouldn't let you in or talk to you unless you had an appointment. And the only way of making an appointment? Over the phone. I got to the point where I sat down outside the entrance and waited, and then the receptionist agreed to make an appointment for me. She did attempt to give me a telephone appointment, but seemed resigned to a f2t eventually. When I finally saw the Doctor she was pretty annoyed with the surgery staff. It's on my notes too, but the reception staff either don't or aren't allowed to read those.

Seacrow said:

I have phone phobia too! It was worst during lockdown when the practice wouldn't let you in or talk to you unless you had an appointment. And the only way of making an appointment? Over the phone. I got to the point where I sat down outside the entrance and waited, and then the receptionist agreed to make an appointment for me. She did attempt to give me a telephone appointment, but seemed resigned to a f2t eventually. When I finally saw the Doctor she was pretty annoyed with the surgery staff. It's on my notes too, but the reception staff either don't or aren't allowed to read those.

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@Seacrow I can well understand how difficult that must have been for you. I really don't understand my phone phobia but at least I now feel relieved that my GP practice know that I cannot do it. Even if I try my mind stops working and then my mouth. I feel so stupid! I know you will understand.

Nothing stupid about a phobia. They just "are". Working around them is what is necessary and it looks as if you have got that nailed.

I will confess that my GP surgery and DN (whoever they are) are not terribly helpful. I have not spoken to a DN at all in many months, despite a near fatal DKN brought on by Covid. My GP does his best , but most of the GPs in the surgery have no idea about me and my other conditions. The NHS is going downhill quickly, through no fault of the staff. They have too many burdens to carry and too many targets to meey, and can no longer concentrate on patients, but numbers. Covid was the straw that broke the camel's back.

To my mind the primary problem with our NHS is the chronic underinvestment it has endured for the past several decades. The problem has been exacerbated due to increasing numbers of elderly patients and more recently staff shortage at all levels due to Brexit and also a fairly high number of HCPs leaving due to the intolerable pressure of work.

I have nothing but the greatest admiration for all staff at our local GP practice, they are working their socks off and on the few occasions I felt I needed to see a GP I was given an appointment within two or three days. My recent diabetes reviews have been by phone and I’m very happy with this as it means my Consultant can ‘see’ more patients and I don’t have to waste time travelling. I know that if I have a question about my management of my diabetes at any time I can phone the local diabetes unit and speak to a DSN or Consultant.