Have you noticed a recent change in your GP surgery?
 

My GP's surgery was put out to tender two years ago when it became another cog in the wheel of this new market-focussed health service. I have no idea who owns it now but its probably being run by some offshore financier on a for-profit basis.

All the regular doctors have left or been sacked and replaced by GP-locums fresh out of med school.

I made an appointment with a female doctor last week but found out, after sitting with her for less than two minutes, that she was in fact a nurse practitioner in plain clothes and the only reason she told me she was a nurse is because she wasn't qualified to deal with my problem and needed to refer me to a doctor...another day...another appointment!.

"But I made an appointment with a doctor" I said :conf: "oh that's ok" she said, "we can deal with most things".

I've just been chatting to a friend who lives in Croydon and she's had exactly the same experience at her own practice.

Has anyone else noticed recent changes within their own GP practice?

My sister is a nurse practitioner, she gets frustrated that some are sent through to her that clearly should be seen by a doctor too. At our surgery you have to state at the walk in surgery if you want to see a doctor, if you don't then you'll be sent to her... well, I won't haha.

its the equivalent of seeing an assistant first to verify that you have a condition that merits a doctors time.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the way things are going at doctors. I can see good in both the old ways and the new systems. Its the way the world is going in everything where there is no personal touch and its done generically I think it is so that there is less emotional involvement with the patient/customer and therefore harsher decisions can be made without any recourse

Not been for ages so I can't comment

My doctors has changed a lot, they moved from their own little private practice into the new health centre, and over time you actually hardly got to see her and it was all different locums instead, then the doctor that I've been with for 25 years left and now we don't even have 'our own' doctor, it's just whoever can see you on the day.

We have to phone at exactly 8.15 for an appointment and if you don't get through quick then all the days appointments are given out and you have to repeat the scenario the next day and so on until you get an appointment.

They also don't give out appointments to anyone between 12pm and 3pm which typically enough is the times I can get away from work because it's not too busy.

We also have nurses that see you for test, results, minor illnesses now AND they can actually give out prescriptions too, I was shocked when I found that one out.

Our nurse prescriptions are yellow and the doctors are pink.

I miss the little private practice tbh.

I haven't been for over a year, it still runs pretty much the same, more phone consultations and you can do all sorts online if you want.
Quite a few of our old doctors have retired and loads of new ones started.
Last time I was there the doc had me straight over to the hospital for tests, can't complain really.

I haven't been since March but it seemed the same back then :shrug:

my doctor's is only a telephone surgery now lmao

you have to ring up to get a telephone appointment, and then speak to the doctor. If he think's you should come in, you ring back the next day and get an appointment for 2 weeks time

ingenious

..I'm always really reluctant to criticise GPs because I've received such great care when it was needed ...but one worry I have is with repeat prescription...it may be the same when they're not repeat medication but that would be harder to identify...anyway, obviously a repeat medication is reviewed at intervals and often, someone will be prescribed an alternative because it's cheaper, which helps with a surgery's budgeting...the GPs are quite open about that... I've always found anyway..that they'll say that it's the same thing but it's cheaper..and that's fine and cool because that's understandable but then if it doesn't have the same results/doesn't 'control' like it's meant to or even in some cases, can make people feel quite ill...just things that didn't happen with the previous medication....so is what they're saying then , that actually it's not the same thing only a cheaper alternative but a completely different medication, because how could it be the same unless it 'treats' the same.../and an extreme of that could be that people could become seriously ill because they're not actually been applicably treated at all due to costs ...and they don't even realise that...

Sadly it is going to get likely far worse as many GPs are just packing up and heading off abroad.
I rarely go,however I hear loads of complaining now and GPs too are frustrated they cannot due to time, give the time their patients really need.

I have no complaints,our surgery seems to be working as normal,you ring for an appointment,they give you a time and you can see your doctor or a sister if you prefer.

Different doctors in ours.Mostly foreign now instead of the usual British ones.For most English is not their first language.

I have no complaints about my doctors. I keep my appointments and am seen relatively quickly most times, and I always SPECIFICALLY ask to see my own doctor who is absolutely brilliant. I would say the service has improved over the past year.

Some interesting responses...thank you :)

This is an interesting read and explains what's happening. You need to scroll down to "The Companies in Primary Care" http://www.nhscampaign.org/uploads/d...0Unlimited.pdf

There are still GP-led and locally-focused practices and so not everyone is going to see these changes.

Someone told me this morning that our local Walk in Centre is now closed but a new Primary Care Walk in Centre has opened in its place. The difference between the first and the second is, the second is fee paying. I can walk in off the street and pay just a £100 for a consultation!!

Really, there is no local NHS facility for walk in? our surgery is walk in from 8am -11am and then app only.

In all honesty Kizzy, I've never used a WiC because I've never needed one but I had heard a lot are closing down. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/healt...e-8931753.html

We still have A&E but I thought WiC's were for minor/none emergency cases.

Sorry I meant our local doctors has a WIC, it's not a minor injuries unit though, although I think they are on the rise to take the pressure off A&E.
My sis worked in one before becoming an ANP and she was shocked at what people came in with... small cat scratches, small bruises after bumping themselves, watery eyes after peeling onions..... ( I kid you not)
There is a minor injuries unit outside macdonalds on fri and sat in Leeds city centre too now.

have not been in mine for years so have no clue

seem to have allot of healthy people here.

every time I go and that's normally 5 times a week my quack looks at me and says - you are sick but there is nothing we can do.

I feel a poem is brewing.

Went to the doctors but was seen with a nurse who quickly told me to pee in a cup , then she rammed a needle in my arm and took so much blood that i asked if there wany left for me. She asked why the rush? I said i have two dogs waiting to go to the park in the car so the last thing i wanna do is be here when i can be outdoors with the dogs. So she made me another appointment and i said ok as long as it doesn't get in the way or my morning walks with the dogs i'll be fine.

A similar thing happened to me this week, I was supposed to be going on Friday to have something done to my ears, but when I rescheduled the appointment to yesterday, the person told me that this nurse was not 'qualified' to do the treatment, when they said the complete opposite when I booked the first appointment