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The Gp Substitute Will See You Now

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naomi24 | 09:35 Thu 31st Jan 2019 | News
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//An army of more than 20,000 physios, pharmacists and paramedics are to be recruited to work alongside under-pressure GPs, NHS bosses say.
The new staff will work with GPs, taking responsibility for some of the 300 million bookings made with practices each year.
They will also provide continuing care to patients in the community.
NHS England said this should allow GPs to spend more time with the sickest patients.//

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46994187

Do some people demand unwarranted appointments with their GP, and would you be happy to see a GP substitute?

Personally, I think this is a good idea. Too many people visit their GP unnecessarily. As an example. I woke up one morning with considerable pain in my ear and found blood on my pillow. I called my surgery and was asked to attend within an hour to see a specialist nurse who was able to prescribe antibiotics to clear the infection. Great service. Job done.
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sqad, I disagree. The condition causing my problem wasn't obvious. A nurse would likely have diagnosed a severe bout of flu. When you really need a doctor, a nurse simply won't do.
danny

"Sqad, //home visits are a waste of time.//
That may be your opinion but, as far as I am concerned, they are not."

That is fair enough, as you are looking at it from a patient's point of view and i am looking at it from my( a doctor's) point of view.
naomi.....nurses nowadays are University trained.......they have a degree....their training involves both the practice and principals of nursing and health care.........the question for nurse and doctor alike is "Is this patient ill?" Mistakes answering this question are not uncommon and would be made by both groups in my opinion.
My wife has only been ill twice in the 42years we have been married. The Christmas before last she became ill on Christmas morning. She could not get out of bed upstairs which was very inconvenient for her as our only toilet is downstairs.The room was spinning around and it was too dangerous to use our steep stairs. We were reluctant to call an ambulance. After a week I went to the GP surgery and pleaded for a house call. The GP came around within the hour and diagnosed Labrynthitis. I was extremely grateful and impressed with that service and it saved tying up an ambulance which could be used for more serious cases/emergencies.
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Sqad, I know. I have several among my acquaintances. I would not, however, elevate them to the level of a qualified doctor. If they were, indeed, so qualified, doctors would be redundant. That'd save the NHS a few bob!
retrocop.....I know! I know! thes home visits seem to be unique to the UK, as other countries do not adopt them.

In you wife's case, how did the GP diagnose labyrinthitis? what tests could he have done in your house? if as i have suggested, a nurse had assessed your wife, realised that tests were necessary then she could have arranged transport to the Polyclinic as i have suggested and the appropriate investigations could be put into motion for either confirming or disproving the diagnosis.
naomi.........the cardinal point of the practice of medicine and Surgery is..........."Is this an ill patient?"

Pre 1940.......grandma and grandad would easily answer this question but post 1948 the question is only answered by a doctor. FINE, but now the doctor (GP) hasn't the time to see all these patients and that is why they are being farmed out to other bodies.
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sqad, why are you telling me that? That is precisely what this thread is about - and clearly I think it's a very good idea. However, the fact remains when people genuinely need the expertise of a doctor, a nurse (or other medical professional) simply will not do - and I think this new initiative quite rightly recognises that. As I said, if lesser qualified people were deemed equal to the job, doctors would be rendered redundant.
naomi

"As I said, if lesser qualified people were deemed equal to the job, doctors would be rendered redundant."

I don't see it that way, less qualified people would enable more qualified professional to do their jobs so that we , perhaps, might rise up the league table of cancer survival rates, as an example and waiting lists for investigations and operations may well be dealt with with more urgency.
// GP's are under worked, overpaid and are not good value for money in my opinion. ..... generations of Brits have been spoon fed by the NHS which is used purely as a Political tool.//

yeah like Brexit and devaluation - all political tools eagerly accepted by the gullible British Public - - my arriss

now come on Sqad be fair to GPs - they after all sent you all the tonsils that put bread and butter on the table and your kids thro school

it should be Sqad - sings - thank heaven for those GPs.....
or else what is a surgeon to do?
( with thx to Maurice Chevalier in Gigi)
actaully sqad dear
I thought you were gonna say:

well a ruptured ear drum should be seen by a doctor at some point in the course of the disease ....

but ho hum ....
PP..you have missed my point, or i have badly made it.

Of course we need GP's, but in the manner that they are employed e.g home visits, paper work, reduced working hours etc......it is my opinion that they are poor value.
Now, in a Polyclinic with at least 10-20GPs, X-Ray facilities, blood tests and respiratory tests on tap....they would be better value.
Home visits by GP's in my opinion an anachronism, a relic of the past, no part of modern medicine.
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sqad, //less qualified people would enable more qualified professional to do their jobs //

I'll say again, that's exactly what this thread is about. When you say that using less qualified people enables doctors more time to do specialist work, you clearly don’t think that the less qualified are as capable, which is what I said - so I don’t know what you’re arguing about.
naomi...LOL...I agree entirely.
However, my point was that the cure doesn't lie with transferring responsibility BUT with reorganisation of GP services.
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Haha! I agree! Whoopee! ;o)
They created non-PCs to avoid paying for more PCs. Unsurprised they're now trying to get non-GPs to avoid paying for more GPs.
can we please say "differently qualified" and not "less qualified"
woofgang.......No we can't.

Differently qualified could be a Plumber or say a Heavy vehicle driver, which would help this thread much
This thread is using the terms that you question, as compared to the standard of a GP.

Yes! yes1 I know what you are getting at.............
then why nitpick?
This thing wth having the doctor at the top of the pyramid reminds me of the fountain in the Ministry of Magic.

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