'Serious' GP shortage on horizon

[NoTail]

That seems like a good working hours week.

 

I was working about 60-70 hours every week including Saturday and Sunday until I collapsed last year. Now retired early and a bit poor but very happy and consider myself lucky to be alive.

[quilp]

Thanks for your reply doc, and good on you.

[The Duck of Atholl]

If you're out of work or a pensioner you shouldn't be allowed early morning appointments on the couple of times I've been to the docs I've had to wait a couple of weeks to get a pre work appointment only to find the surgery full of coffin dodgers when I arrive. It would make more sense for them to take later appointments. Blue rinses can wait an hour or so.

[the stinking enigma]

 

How many hours a week average do gp's do? Roughly?

It varies but mine is around 8am to 6pm 4 days a week (including all the admin and paperwork and house calls, not just surgery time), plus another half a day with a half day off, plus a fair bit of out of hours working for MEDS, which is not compulsory but someone has to do it.

So four and a half days a week then?

[the stinking enigma]

But respect to you for the MEDS thing though doc. Is that like on a voluntary unpaid sort of basis?

[Tarne]

Don't be a dick Enigma. 10 hours a day for 4 days, plus a half day (say 4 hours), 44 hours a week. Plus out of hours for MEDs.

 

You're looking at a decent 50 hours per week (which is par for the course I guess, I mean, most jobs over 50k a year that aren't Gov office jobs generally take up more than the usual 40 hours a week!)

[Tarne]

But yeah, for fucks sake, just charge £50 for GPs appointment and be done with it.

Except they'd fuck it up, and charge £50 to you and me, but give pensioners free GP visits

[the stinking enigma]

And lastly doc, is there any part of your job that couldnt actually be done better by a robot?

[RIchard Britten]

Could you not use someone along the lines of a higher trained nurse/paramedic type to act as a "triage" at a surgery.

 

A sort of pre-screening to see if you actually need a doctor or just need to be sent to the chemist for some cough medicine?

 

I know some surgery secretaries act like they are the gatekeepers to an appointment, but being told by someone that they think you aren't dying just yet rather than a phone operator with a spreadsheet is a bit more reassuring.

[hboy]

But yeah, for fucks sake, just charge £50 for GPs appointment and be done with it.

 

Except they'd fuck it up, and charge £50 to you and me, but give pensioners free GP visits

Bit you're unemployed Tarne. How would you pay £50? :-)

[Tarne]

Easily? If you need to see a GP it's serious and can scrape up £50

[RIchard Britten]

Easily? If you need to see a GP it's serious and can scrape up £50

 

If its that serious that you need to "scrape" together money rather than toughing it out, shouldn't you be on your way to A&E?

[Tarne]

Exactly!

 

Edit: I'd also impose a fine for incorrect usage of A&E because the amount of assholes that go up there with a sniffle annoys me

[hampsterkahn]

There is a sort of self righteousness regarding our health needs, especially as we adopt "the sick role".I am guilty as any.

 

Bit like being in a traffic jam and complaining bitterly that all the other cars apart from you have no reason to be there.

,"Well ,I never been one to bother the doctor with trivial things, I can tell you- when I am ill, I am properly ill ,not like these time wasters ,old people ,scroungers , hypochondriacs and generally useless stupid beings who think they are ill; they should just go to the chemist or something .They are just clogging up the system to prevent me getting attention when I need it - I have a very high pain threshold after all ,so if I say it hurts it must be really bad"

[Tarne]

It's a bit different the traffic jam "You're not stuck in traffic, you ARE traffic" situation