GPs in England threaten industrial action

[Eldorado]

GPs in England are threatening industrial action in protest at the government’s attempt to force them to see any patient who wants a face-to-face appointment.

The British Medical Association’s GPs committee voted unanimously to reject the plan by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, which included “naming and shaming” surgeries that see too few patients in person.

The doctors’ union has decided to hold a ballot on possible industrial action, which could result in family doctors at the 6,600 practices in England reducing the work they undertake.

Guardian report

Telegraph report

[Silver]

Typical of this government. Nothing is thought through. Every action they take is knee-jerk, just like the Covid respose. Unless they are clever than I give them credit for and they want the NHS to fail, so they can persuade the public it is better to sell it out to private companies.

[L.A.T.1961]

I see they are not complaining about the £250m fund for GP practices, to help them improve patient access. 

So they will take the money ? and then go on strike.  

Not a plan to endearer them to the public. 

[Silver]

31 minutes ago, L.A.T.1961 said:

I see they are not complaining about the £250m fund for GP practices, to help them improve patient access. 

So they will take the money ? and then go on strike.  

Not a plan to endearer them to the public. 

Face to face for everyone who requests it will not improve access to those who need the service.

Edited October 21, 2021 by The Silver Shroud

[aztek]

18 minutes ago, The Silver Shroud said:

Face to face for everyone who requests it will not improve access to those who need the service.

don't you think people that need service,  are the ones who requests face to face appointments?  who else requests access? those who do not need service? lol, is that  britsh sense of humor, or something esle?

[Silver]

2 minutes ago, aztek said:

don't you think people that need service,  are the ones who requests face to face appointments?  who else requests access? those who do not need service? lol, is that  britsh sense of humor, or something esle?

You post such nonsense I won't respond to you. I think you just troll for amusement.

[aztek]

so it is something else, i figured that much. 

[Grey Area]

I can’t see how the majority of visits to the GP would be improved by face to face, if my own visits are anything to go by, they may as well have been carried out by talking to a brick wall.

If you read between the lines on this one, what people are craving right now is a personal touch.  What’s needed is well funded and robust mental health and well-being services accessible to those that ask for it.

Mental health was woefully overlooked pre-COVID, and now we will start to see the real effects of fear and isolation start to display themselves over the coming months and years.

[+and-then]

2 hours ago, Eldorado said:

GPs in England are threatening industrial action in protest at the government’s attempt to force them to see any patient who wants a face-to-face appointment.

The British Medical Association’s GPs committee voted unanimously to reject the plan by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, which included “naming and shaming” surgeries that see too few patients in person.

The doctors’ union has decided to hold a ballot on possible industrial action, which could result in family doctors at the 6,600 practices in England reducing the work they undertake.

Guardian report

Telegraph report

This sounds similar to the behavior of our teacher's union in the U.S.  The difference might be that these docs have actually been spread so thin that trying to see every patient who wants a face-to-face would run them into the ground.  It's just another side-effect of the response to Covid, I'd imagine.   

[Silver]

1 minute ago, Grey Area said:

I can’t see how the majority of visits to the GP would be improved by face to face, if my own visits are anything to go by, they may as well have been carried out by talking to a brick wall.

If you read between the lines on this one, what people are craving right now is a personal touch.  What’s needed is well funded and robust mental health and well-being services accessible to those that ask for it.

Mental health was woefully overlooked pre-COVID, and now we will start to see the real effects of fear and isolation start to display themselves over the coming months and years.

I've worked for the NHS for a few decades, so I am biased. My own view and personal experience of the GP service is that it is good, though I also personally know people who are very frustrated. My own view is we need nurses to replace receptionists so they can triage. Not generic nurses, but staff with emergency training and experience. Same with the ambulance service, they waste a lot of time and resources on "frequent callers". But the key is experience. I recall my discussions with you over children, I learnt a lot from that, I really did, we need staff with a wide background to use "common sense" allied with professional experience and training. 

[Eldorado]

Related...

The Royal Cornwall Hospital escalated its operating level from OPEL4 - known as 'black alert - to an 'internal critical incident' on Thursday (October 21) as dozens of ambulances queued at its emergency department.

A subsequent post the private Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust Facebook page, seen by CornwallLive, explained that NHS staff at the Treliske, Truro, hospital were under "intense pressure" with 100 people in the emergency department.

It also explained that at the time of the post, more than 25 ambulances urgently needed to handover patients so they could get back to calls that are waiting.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/royal-cornwall-hospital-pleads-nhs-6097375

[Silver]

11 hours ago, Grey Area said:

I can’t see how the majority of visits to the GP would be improved by face to face, if my own visits are anything to go by, they may as well have been carried out by talking to a brick wall.

If you read between the lines on this one, what people are craving right now is a personal touch.  What’s needed is well funded and robust mental health and well-being services accessible to those that ask for it.

Mental health was woefully overlooked pre-COVID, and now we will start to see the real effects of fear and isolation start to display themselves over the coming months and years.

I know you are a Brexiter, so you voted to make the UK poorer and reduce NHS staffing. So why are you talking about increasing funding? We are not going to get increased funding for any sort of care while the economy is contracting.

[itsnotoutthere]

GPs going on strike, how would anyone know?

[+ouija ouija]

25 minutes ago, Eldorado said:

Related...

The Royal Cornwall Hospital escalated its operating level from OPEL4 - known as 'black alert - to an 'internal critical incident' on Thursday (October 21) as dozens of ambulances queued at its emergency department.

A subsequent post the private Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust Facebook page, seen by CornwallLive, explained that NHS staff at the Treliske, Truro, hospital were under "intense pressure" with 100 people in the emergency department.

It also explained that at the time of the post, more than 25 ambulances urgently needed to handover patients so they could get back to calls that are waiting.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/royal-cornwall-hospital-pleads-nhs-6097375

Main problem is the 120 beds that are not available because the people in them are fit to go home but their home circumstances don't allow that.

[Eldorado]

11 minutes ago, ouija ouija said:

Main problem is the 120 beds that are not available because the people in them are fit to go home but their home circumstances don't allow that.

The main problem is understaffing in all sections of the care 'industry'.

Right now, the care system is broken.

Our care system was already broken, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it even weaker. Millions of older people are struggling to get the support they need, and carers are often left to manage on their own.

The Prime Minister’s announcement of a Health and Social Care Levy shows us that the Government finally wants to take action on this. However, their plan does nothing to help older people and carers right now.

The only way of changing this is if the Chancellor invests money in social care now. Proper funding would provide better care for older people, more support for carers and decent pay for care workers.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/our-impact/campaigning/care-in-crisis/

In this report, the BMA illustrates the severity of medical shortages in England, clarifies potential routes out of our predicament and demonstrates the vital roles of the doctor. We urge policy and decision makers to act upon the analysis and proposals that follow. The Health and Care Bill, a new long-term national workforce strategy and the 2021 Spending Review must become vehicles for much needed change across our healthcare services.

As we stand on the precipice of a new defining moment for the services upon which our nation relies, there is hope for a better, healthier and more prosperous future. If we act decisively now, we can continue to manage and improve the population’s health for decades to come. If we fail to deliver, we will leave growing numbers of citizens vulnerable to prolonged suffering and without the care they desperately need.

We speak on behalf of all medical professionals working in England today when we say that there are categorically not enough doctors.

https://www.bma.org.uk/media/4316/bma-medical-staffing-report-in-england-july-2021.pdf

[itsnotoutthere]

14 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said:

I see they are not complaining about the £250m fund for GP practices, to help them improve patient access. 

So they will take the money ? and then go on strike.  

Not a plan to endearer them to the public. 

Thing is, it's not about the money, GPs are payed better than they've ever been & the NHS is well funded, it is a money pit, you could give twice as much money & it would still be poorly run, it needs tearing apart and rebuilding with its original idea at its core. As I say, it's not so much about the amount of money it recieves rather than where & how it is spent.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19663002.chelsea-season-tickets-amazon-prime-among-luxuries-purchased-sussex-nhs-budgets/?ref=twtrec

Edited October 22, 2021 by itsnotoutthere

[itsnotoutthere]

[OpenMindedSceptic]

3 hours ago, itsnotoutthere said:

That's a headline from the NHS themselves that is very misleading 

https://fullfact.org/health/number-nhs-hospital-beds-has-fallen/

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

On 10/22/2021 at 6:36 AM, L.A.T.1961 said:

I see they are not complaining about the £250m fund for GP practices, to help them improve patient access. 

So they will take the money ? and then go on strike.  

Not a plan to endearer them to the public. 

Improved Patient access =/= face-to-face consultations. 
my last GP visit was on Skype (or was it WhatsApp? One of the two) and consisted of my saying “I need a new prescription”and him saying “any issues with the old one?” To which I said “no” and he said “pick it up sometime from the front desk”. 
 

took all of two minutes and I did it at work, during my lunch break. 
Mums last appointment was over the phone and she got her prescription emailed straight to her chemist. 

[itsnotoutthere]

11 hours ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

Improved Patient access =/= face-to-face consultations. 
my last GP visit was on Skype (or was it WhatsApp? One of the two) and consisted of my saying “I need a new prescription”and him saying “any issues with the old one?” To which I said “no” and he said “pick it up sometime from the front desk”. 
 

took all of two minutes and I did it at work, during my lunch break. 
Mums last appointment was over the phone and she got her prescription emailed straight to her chemist. 

You don't even need to do that. I've got an app on the phone that sends me an text every few days asking if I want more tablets, as soon as you reply 'yes' they send within a day. They contact the gp for you. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by itsnotoutthere

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

11 minutes ago, itsnotoutthere said:

You don't even need to do that. I've got an app on the phone that sends me an text every few days asking if I want more tablets, as soon as you reply 'yes' they send within a day. They contact the gp for you. 

That’s cool.

[itsnotoutthere]

Just now, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

That’s cool.

There are a few on the app store. 

The one I use is called Pharmacy2U

[OpenMindedSceptic]

On 10/22/2021 at 10:35 AM, The Silver Shroud said:

I know you are a Brexiter, so you voted to make the UK poorer and reduce NHS staffing. So why are you talking about increasing funding? We are not going to get increased funding for any sort of care while the economy is contracting.

Over the weekend Sunak hints at £5.9Bn of support.

[itsnotoutthere]

On 10/22/2021 at 11:42 AM, itsnotoutthere said:

Thing is, it's not about the money, GPs are payed better than they've ever been & the NHS is well funded, it is a money pit, you could give twice as much money & it would still be poorly run, it needs tearing apart and rebuilding with its original idea at its core. As I say, it's not so much about the amount of money it recieves rather than where & how it is spent.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19663002.chelsea-season-tickets-amazon-prime-among-luxuries-purchased-sussex-nhs-budgets/?ref=twtrec

"More money for the NHS is overdue, but there’s not nearly enough to fix social care"

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/07/more-money-nhs-overdue-not-enough-fix-social-care-boris-johnson

 

"Has he delivered? To answer this, we should first consider his funding plans. Starting in April next year, a 1.25% increase in employers’ and employees’ national insurance contributions, and a 1.25% increase in share dividend tax, will total an extra £12bn in taxes raised each financial year: £36bn over the three remaining financial years of this parliament. This has been labelled a “health and social care levy”, and will in time appear on payslips as a payment distinct from income tax and national insurance contributions.

Of this £36bn (which breaks the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto commitment not to raise any of the main three taxes), the NHS will receive £30.6bn extra. This follows the health secretary, Sajid Javid’s, announcement on Monday of an additional £5.4bn for the NHS for the remainder of this current financial year to address extra Covid-19 and backlog costs."

And it's not enough.  .....apparently.

As I said, it never will be.

Edited October 26, 2021 by itsnotoutthere

[aztek]

maybe you need to take it our of gvmnt hands, cuz as long as those fat cats are in charge of it, things will get worse every year,  but then most brits i read here, do not want to even lessen dependence on gvmnt, never mind remove it completely