Unpopular opinion - NHS is useless

[Paul Dishman]

Brainpox said:

272BHP said:

GPs are not really helping themselves here are they?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/m...

The scheme is a good idea and is much needed.

At a guess: If a GP sends someone to a pharmacist from info gathered during the phone call with reception, then the issue happens to be more complex, who will be liable for any issues that come off the back of that?

I can imagine a GP being more confident giving routine stuff to on site nurses and paramedics, firstly because they are directly employed by the surgery, and also the doctor is available to assist if needed.

If the problem is outside of the Pharmacy First protocol it will get sent back to the GP.
Some GPs don’t like the idea of pharmacists making money and can’t be bothered to operate the referral system properly. Apparently it’s three clicks on the system and that’s two clicks too many.

[ucb]

Why would a GP wants to send a patient who has not been properly triaged to someone with no training in diagnostic medicine?
Why would they waste their time with a system which does not allow them to assess and treat a patient and yet required then to remain as the backstop?

[Paul Dishman]

ucb said:

Why would a GP wants to send a patient who has not been properly triaged to someone with no training in diagnostic medicine?
Why would they waste their time with a system which does not allow them to assess and treat a patient and yet required then to remain as the backstop?

Modern Pharmacists are trained in diagnostic medicine as part of the Masters degree they now undertake, even old fossils like myself undertook diagnostic training at post graduate level in the early 00s

As I understand Pharmacy First most of the traffic is patients going to a pharmacy (as they always have done) where they can be treated for certain conditions by the pharmacist. It’s the pharmacist who makes the decision whether to treat, not treat or refer to another health professional.Not many patients are being formally referred the other way from GP to pharmacy because of the reasons in the Guardian article, mainly because the computer system isn’t very good, but also because some GPs can’t be arsed to use it properly or have an anti-pharmacy bias.

This latter group are the ones who see flu vaccinations as “their” money and resent pharmacies getting in on the act.

[Megaflow]

272BHP said:

GPs are not really helping themselves here are they?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/m...

The scheme is a good idea and is much needed.

Nope. Personally I think the GP’s have to take a lot of the blame for the bin fire that is the NHS at the minute. Since Covid it has become almost impossible to actually see a GP, even if you can get an appointment it is remote in 99% of cases, which I suspect most people don’t want. So they end up at A&E.

[Paul Dishman]

I've had the unusual (for me) experience of using the NHS over the past month or so as a patient rather than as a health professional.

I've had a "mole" on my head which has appeared and slowly grown over the past six months or so. Decided that it would be sensible to get it seen so went down to the health centre and asked for an appointment. Bearing in mind this was on March 22nd, the receptionist said the next available appointment for a GP was April 30th but said that if she sent we a link so I could send in a photo she'd make sure it was checked and they'd get back to me.

Went home, took a photo, sent it in and had a phone call that afternoon to say that they didn't think it was anything to worry about but emphasised they wanted me to have a GP appointment within three weeks, however they didn't have any appointments available but would be in touch.

I heard nothing back, so just before the three weeks was up messaged the health centre to enquire about my appointment saying that they'd emphasised "three weeks" which was " presumably a target from NHS England which were about to miss". About twenty minutes later I had a phone call to say that an appointment was available in half an hour's time if I was free!

Went down and saw a pleasant and straight-talking GP who examined me and said "You want to know if that's cancer?" to which I said I did. I quite like that, I cannot stand being patronised or talked down to- just give it to me straight! He wasn't sure but thought it was a seborrheoic keratitis, but to be on the safe side referred me to the skin cancer clinic at the local hospital. He said it was supposed to be a two week referral, but would probably take longer. He was wrong about that, because the appointment was eight days later and the very nice young female consultant confirmed the GP diagnosis so NFA

I was actually quite impressed just how quickly the NHS worked, once it got itself in gear, although it's apparent that a shortage of GPs is the critical factor.