We have quite the year this year! There have been lots of changes to how we work. Some things were positive, others not so.
From one day to the next we had to get used to a different way of working. England went into lockdown and surgeries needed to adapt.
Instead of seeing all patients face-to-face only, we now had to change to mainly telephone and video consultations. Online consultations were also enforced and we needed to use Doctor Link for this. But, as the word mainly already implies, we continued to see patients face-to-face where this was needed.
Although there were good things about Doctor Link, after all it can be used 24/7 rather than during opening hours only, our patients were not satisfied with the results in many cases. Nor were the clinicians happy to see the many overestimations of the seriousness of a patient’s complaints.
Then in the summer, the media reported how NHS England was telling patients they should see patients face-to-face where this was clinically necessary. WE NEVER STOPPED SEEING PATIENTS FACE-TO-FACE if this was needed. Even during lockdown, we asked patients to come to the surgery to see the doctor if that was needed. However, this report gave the impression GPs refused to see their patients when they should. From the weekly clapping, patients started to complain and shout at us.
Things are still not back to fully normal but we continue to see patients when this is medically indicated. Doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants and reception staff members continue to do their very best to help and support our patients. I have seen first-hand how stressed our staff has been at times.
The phone lines are busy as usual. Doctor Link is an option. All doctor’s appointments are telephone consultations in the first instance. If the doctor feels he/she needs to assess the patient face-to-face, the doctor will arrange for this appointment to take place.
Obviously, DO NOT ATTEND THE SURGERY IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS OF COVID!
A few weeks ago, a patient came to the surgery asking to see the doctor as the patient believed the symptoms were due to Covid. “Can the doctor just check me over and tell me if I’ve got Covid?”
Please, remember, if you have symptoms of Covid, DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE! SELF-ISOLATE AND CONTACT 119 TO ARRANGE A COVID TEST!
And now we are close to Christmas. What happened to the year? There won’t be many people around who expected what happened this year. All we can hope for is for everyone to have a Fabulous Christmas and an even better and healthy 2021!
