GP surgeries facing abuse

[bgmnts]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/28/staff-at-uk-gp-surgeries-facing-abuse-and-tsunami-of-demand

The immense underfunding and mismanaging of the health service and the culture of toxic hatred being permeated by the gaggle of cunts in charge is hitting home now
!

How do we address this?

[wooders1978]

Perhaps stopping carrying on as if we are still in full lockdown might help - I've needed to nip in and out of the doctors cos of reasons recently and the place is like fort fucking Knox - I've only had phone calls from my GP and the nurses are at the surgery doing all the work basically

[Dusty Substance]

I used to[nb]Used to and, after four years of shit, I'll never work for a similar place[/nb] work for an organization which partly dealt with these kinds of issues and the vast majority of the aggressive cunts who would abuse  staff, nurses and doctors in GP surgeries would just play the "mental health" card and get away with it.

[Fambo Number Mive]

What are the relevant unions doing about this?

Consequences for those carrying out the aggression might be of relevance. Although I don't know if people can be banned from a GP given access to healthcare is a human right.

Perhaps a national day of action where GP surgeries close for all put emergency appointments in protest would help.

[Chollis]

how about a national day of clapping instead

[Sebastian Cobb]

I imagine a lot of it is down to policy, over-stretched services and juking the stats to avoid punitive measures, but I guess some surgeries doing stuff like only opening appointments by phone on the day, so they instantly get maxed out when the lines open probably doesn't help.

[Zetetic]

From Securing a sustainable and fit-for-purpose UK health and care workforce in The Lancet, about three weeks ago.

Stop writing about the "UK" as if it has a single health service you ignorant cunts. (I try to be a a bit politer when making this point directly to Guardian journalists, but it doesn't help.)

[Emotional Support Peacock]

The other day I had an appointment to take my child for some vaccinations, however she was vomiting all over the house so obviously I couldn't take her.

The appointment was at 10:45

I tried phoning at 8 - the phone was engaged.

I tried phoning at 9 - the phone was engaged.

I tried phoning at 10 and ended up in a queue of 40 people. I was on hold for 40 minutes!

I could have gone round there and smashed the place up! I didn't though, I wrote a meek email instead and they replied, so I got off the phone so someone else could get through.

If only everyone was more like me.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Surgeries really should allow online bookings. Sometimes you have something that isn't immediately urgent but needs looking at eventually and being able to get it even if it's a while away in the future it's sorted then, I doubt I'd race to the phones to get an appointment for a niggle and not doing something could push it beyond being a niggle.

Plus people could cancel online in the above circumstances and the receptionists could be notified to release it as an emergency appointment or whatever.

[Zetetic]

I've no idea about other countries, but our GP contract states that 25% of all pre-bookable appointments in each practice must be bookable through a "digital solution" (by which they mean a website).[nb]It's a shame that the main "digital solution" we offer to practices nationally is a bit pants in some respects, but it does work for booking appointments.[/nb]

Edit: And that all practices are contactable via email/digital tool for patients to request routine(non-urgent) appointments or call-backs.

[Buelligan]

I used to[nb]Used to and, after four years of shit, I'll never work for a similar place[/nb] work for an organization which partly dealt with these kinds of issues and the vast majority of the aggressive cunts who would abuse  staff, nurses and doctors in GP surgeries would just play the "mental health" card and get away with it.

WTF is that?

[Huxleys Babkins]

Surgeries really should allow online bookings. Sometimes you have something that isn't immediately urgent but needs looking at eventually and being able to get it even if it's a while away in the future it's sorted then, I doubt I'd race to the phones to get an appointment for a niggle and not doing something could push it beyond being a niggle.

Plus people could cancel online in the above circumstances and the receptionists could be notified to release it as an emergency appointment or whatever.

Since COVID started, my surgery lets you do an online consultation and you'll get a call back within 48 hours from either the practice nurse or a doctor. It's properly efficient compared to hanging on the phone for ages to be offered a physical appointment in six weeks time.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've no idea about other countries, but our GP contract states that 25% of all pre-bookable appointments in each practice must be bookable through a "digital solution" (by which they mean a website).[nb]It's a shame that the main "digital solution" we offer to practices nationally is a bit pants in some respects, but it does work for booking appointments.[/nb]

Edit: And that all practices are contactable via email/digital tool for patients to request routine(non-urgent) appointments or call-backs.

Often this doesn't get communicated well, which is as good as not having it.

When I had some ear trouble that required a syringing, it turned out I'd had some unnecessary doctors appointments since it turns out nurses run clinics and they could've done it all. I found this out all at the end. The doctors didn't even tell me, despite it being a waste of their time.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Since COVID started, my surgery lets you do an online consultation and you'll get a call back within 48 hours from either the practice nurse or a doctor. It's properly efficient compared to hanging on the phone for ages to be offered a physical appointment in six weeks time.

Yeah I'd much rather that too for ailments that don't need someone to prod or feel them.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Yeah I'd much rather that too for ailments that don't need someone to prod or feel them.

The great thing is that it goes through a triage, so anything minor is picked up by the practice nurse and anything that sounds a bit dodgy is prioritised to be dealt with by a GP, usually the same day. I had some issues with my waterworks and I'd gone from hitting send to being in the surgery with a finger up my arse within five hours.

[Dusty Substance]

WTF is that?

An admittedly harsh, uncomfortable but undeniable fact. Believe me, I went into that job with the best will in the world, hoping to help and support people who are less privileged than most, but after four years of daily encounters with literally some of the worst people in the country, I realised just how truly awful some people can be.

[Buelligan]

You looked in the mirror?  You do understand that people presenting at GP surgeries are usually quite stressed and often ill, helping them is what you were paid to do.  Have to say dismissing many of them as a general group "playing the mental health card" makes me both angry (that you were ever paid to be in their lives) and glad you're not there any more.

[Gurke and Hare]

When I had some ear trouble that required a syringing, it turned out I'd had some unnecessary doctors appointments since it turns out nurses run clinics and they could've done it all. I found this out all at the end. The doctors didn't even tell me, despite it being a waste of their time.

That's bizarre - when I call my surgery, there's a recorded message telling you that the receptionist will ask you what the appointment is for, so that they can direct you to "the most appropriate medical professional" which seems like a good way to avoid this situation, you'd think all surgeries would do that.

[Blinder Data]

there's no excuse for abusing healthcare staff. only in extreme circumstances is "kicking up a fuss" justified.

i found the article truly depressing. people can be awful. nowadays many just don't understand why, in a world of same-day delivery, you have to wait weeks for a visit to the doctor. overreliance on GP services as first port-of-call is also a big problem, among the obvious ones like underfunding.

can the doctor not just act as landlord when the hoi polloi get abusive? "see you, NO ONE talks to my staff like that - you're BARRED, sunshine"

[Zetetic]

overreliance on GP services as first port-of-call is also a big problem

Why no just pop along to your A&E instead?

[thenoise]

I'm amazed how many GP surgeries don't even have a basic call waiting facility.

[Zetetic]

Particularly since you can just write a requirement that they have one into their contracts.

[Sebastian Cobb]

how often do their contracts get renewed?

[Zetetic]

Annually, negotiated with the relevant general practitioners committee.

[Zetetic]

I'm all for despising GP practices, to be clear, but while they continue to operate as pseudo-independent private contractors there's actually quite a lot you can make them do if 1) ask them as part of their contracts and 2) shoulder the costs of doing so, ideally by providing systems that make stuff a piece of piss for them.

[Blinder Data]

Why no just pop along to your A&E instead?

why no just write what you mean instead? your cryptic style is tiresome, man

[Buelligan]

What's cryptic about that?

[Zetetic]

It is extremely unclear what good decision making for members of the public with either a novel or worsening health problem looks like at this point. We have messaging about self-screening for diverse range of serious conditions with increasingly vague early symptoms[nb]Because that's how you find treatable cancer, for example.[/nb]. We have messaging about not going to X or Y unless it's serious, or an emergency, or you can't self-treat - all characteristics which fundamentally require a judgement. We have symptom screeners of variable quality and discoverability[nb]England's better than any of the others at their online ones, I note - credit where it's due[/nb] - whether that's online or via 111 - but all of which naturally tend towards sensitivity over specificity (given the possibility of killing someone with a decision tree). We have GP practices within walking distances of the most deprived communities, maybe a major A&E if we've not merged it into a new hospital the middle of nowhere to try to cope with increasing specialisation and the workforce crises, and MIUs that are three buses away. Many first line services everywhere are unable to reliably match demand and capacity.

[Zetetic]

I've been messaging multiple organisations in my country for two weeks pointing out that one of our websites - specifically intended to improve public decision-making - is listing the wrong A&Es as open and closed.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah I've had a small lump between my leg and arse since before covid, which is almost certainly a cyst but I don't know if I'm welcome at the doctors (probably) or whether it's a good idea going (probably not). It's not got bigger so it's probably fine unless it gets infected.

A braver man would have sorted it with a skewer and the gas hob by now.