The Lemon Fool

The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board?

bruncher wrote:The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board?

Pedantic. But all GPs are private.
It's just that some you have to pay when you get seen and the others are paid for out of taxation.

absolutezero wrote:

bruncher wrote:The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board?

Pedantic. But all GPs are private.
It's just that some you have to pay when you get seen and the others are paid for out of taxation.

It's not about the money, I just would like to be able to see a GP when I want to, without having to jump through hoops.

I did contemplate that last year.
One I looked it, there is a monthly charge that increases over the age of 70. £150 iirc.
They do guarantee to come and see you at home.
Not quite desperate enough yet, although recent experiences of the phone fob-off service have been uninspiring.

I think the GP experience began to go downhill many years ago with the rise of multi-GP practices. It was never quite the same when one could not always see the same GP.
I find the same problem with the random and ever-changing cast at my barber.

V8

absolutezero wrote:

bruncher wrote:The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board?

Pedantic. But all GPs are private.
It's just that some you have to pay when you get seen and the others are paid for out of taxation.

Does this mean that one "could" ask to see one's NHS GP privately, paying for the appointment?

Mike4 wrote:

absolutezero wrote:

bruncher wrote:The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board

Pedantic. But all GPs are private.
It's just that some you have to pay when you get seen and the others are paid for out of taxation.

Does this mean that one "could" ask to see one's NHS GP privately, paying for the appointment?

I haven't tried that but I suspect that many would be responsive. It is possible that they could not see you privately in a NHS premises. But of course a GP office is not that because he/she is a private contractor for the NHS.

I have certainly had a NHS GP recommend private specialists to me, and I have had general consultations with private doctors in the Harley Street area. I would bet those doctors also do NHS work but prefer to work privately both for the money and for the lack of constraints, bureaucracy and delays.

bruncher wrote:The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board?

No, but matter of interest, which part of SE London? (SEnn?)

bruncher wrote:The GP service in my area of SE London has deteriorated to the extent that I'm feeling pushed into having to consider going private. Does anyone have recent experience of private GP service they would be prepared to share on this board?

Interested in this.

I recently discovered part of the reason our large local GP practice has gone so bad. There's more than a dozen GPs work there. Not even one of them works full time. Typically, they are working three days a week. Some work only two. One GP works four days a week. Something is very badly wrong with the NHS when this happens and patients cannot see a GP.

I am definitely thinking that for anything more than a repeat prescription, a non NHS GP appointment is probably the only way I am ever going to see a GP when I need one.

A friend of mine in Fulham goes to a private GP for himself and his wife, who has early onset dementia.
It all works fine but one thing to bear in mind is that the private GP will write private prescriptions, not NHS ones. That can get expensive.
My friend was eventually able to persuade the local NHS GP to prescribe a dementia medication that the private GP had been prescribing for a long time. Saved a lot!

BullDog wrote:I recently discovered part of the reason our large local GP practice has gone so bad. There's more than a dozen GPs work there. Not even one of them works full time. Typically, they are working three days a week. Some work only two. One GP works four days a week. Something is very badly wrong with the NHS when this happens and patients cannot see a GP.

This is absolutely correct. There is a large NHS GP practice in North London that I am familiar with, and nearly all the doctors there are part-time. The majority of the GPs are women with children, and so no doubt the schedule suits them. But whether that is best for the patients is another matter.

As a result when I do go there, I invariably see a doctor who I have never seen before, and will never see again. Either a part-timer or a locum.

BullDog wrote:
I recently discovered part of the reason our large local GP practice has gone so bad. There's more than a dozen GPs work there. Not even one of them works full time. Typically, they are working three days a week. Some work only two. One GP works four days a week. Something is very badly wrong with the NHS when this happens and patients cannot see a GP.

Most GPs are now only working three days a week or less, with only half working on Friday afternoons, according to Government research.

The new study revealed a “substantial” fall in hours worked since the pandemic as the UK’s family doctors are opting for longer weekends.

Commissioned by the Department of Health, the research found 58.4 percent of GPs were working six half-days sessions or less, which amounts to three days per week overall.

This is compared to 50.1 percent when the survey was last conducted pre-pandemic in 2019.

While 63.5 percent are working on Monday afternoons, this dramatically drops to just 50 percent on Friday.

https://www.gbnews.uk/news/gps-working-three-day-weeks-after-dramatic-fall-in-hours-spent-in-practices/270950

RC

Lootman wrote:

BullDog wrote:There's more than a dozen GPs work there. Not even one of them works full time.

nearly all the doctors there are part-time. The majority of the GPs are women with children, and so no doubt the schedule suits them. But whether that is best for the patients is another matter.

As a result when I do go there, I invariably see a doctor who I have never seen before, and will never see again. Either a part-timer or a locum.

In conversation with the spouse of a GP many years ago, she opined that the reason there are no longer home visits is that women doctors won't do home visits.

In another more recent context - a community meeting about knife crime - one local woman whose father had been a local GP, said that home visits provided good local intelligence about all kinds of things - a damp home, an infested home, a home where family members are in fear etc.

Coming back more directly to the subject, I am currently trying to find out about the company that provides the GP services locally. The company name doesn't show up on the Companies House searches, so either it's name is incorrect or it's registered overseas.

Other problems over the past few years include completely wrong diagnosis - was told I had arthritis when the problem was sciatica. Sorted out by private osteopath. Frightening really, to be told I would be on painkillers for the rest of my life, then having the problem cleared by one session with osteopath (osteopathy of course not even recognised by NHS)

FT has piece today about creeping privatisation of NHS

Interesting discussion....BUT why do GPs continue to receive an average salary of $130K plus astonishing DB pension benefits ?

Are we, as members of TLF and the like. who are generally above average earners and possibly tax payers, being taken for mugs ?

Why are so many of us intelligent and money wise investors putting up with this ?

We discuss all the nuances of investment strategy but continue to put up with a substandard GP service. Cannot figure this one out.

scotview wrote:Interesting discussion....BUT why do GPs continue to receive an average salary of $130K plus astonishing DB pension benefits ?

Are we, as members of TLF and the like. who are generally above average earners and possibly tax payers, being taken for mugs ?

Why are so many of us intelligent and money wise investors putting up with this ?

We discuss all the nuances of investment strategy but continue to put up with a substandard GP service ?

Yes agreed, hence me starting the conversation - and hoping to find out if anyone has found a solution. Also wondering if this is a big city problem? Perhaps things are better in rural areas?

bruncher wrote: Perhaps things are better in rural areas?

Most people I talk to, in rural Aberdeenshire, have generally seen a huge deterioration in GP services since Covid. Most people don't know what GPs do all day now.

The surprising thing is that nearly everyone has nothing but the highest praise for hospital clinical and nursing staff.

Very, very strange situation.

PS Most folkes perception of the caring profession is also very, very positive.

scotview wrote:

bruncher wrote: Perhaps things are better in rural areas?

Most people I talk to, in rural Aberdeenshire, have generally seen a huge deterioration in GP services since Covid. Most people don't know what GPs do all day now.

The surprising thing is that nearly everyone has nothing but the highest praise for hospital clinical and nursing staff.

Very, very strange situation.

PS Most folkes perception of the caring profession is also very, very positive.

Scotland has significant differences I believe, such as free social care/home care. Also Sturgeon recently announced free dentistry, but I don't know if that has happened.

bruncher wrote:osteopathy of course not even recognised by NHS

Are you sure?
I thought it was considered a peer of physiotherapy these days; complementary rather than quackery.

I too thought the osteopathy was not recognised by the NHS but found this

Osteopathy is available in some areas on the NHS. Your GP or local clinical commissioning group (CCG) should be able to tell you whether it's available in your area.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteopath ... 20together.

bruncher wrote:

scotview wrote:Interesting discussion....BUT why do GPs continue to receive an average salary of $130K plus astonishing DB pension benefits ?

Are we, as members of TLF and the like. who are generally above average earners and possibly tax payers, being taken for mugs ?

Why are so many of us intelligent and money wise investors putting up with this ?

We discuss all the nuances of investment strategy but continue to put up with a substandard GP service ?

Yes agreed, hence me starting the conversation - and hoping to find out if anyone has found a solution. Also wondering if this is a big city problem? Perhaps things are better in rural areas?

Sadly, no. In fact, both our grown kids live centre lives and their access to a GP seems far better actually.

So called part time general medical practice is generally a misnomer.The average hours worked by those 6session a week GPS is 38hours which would be considered full time by many others.The cause of the deterioration in access to GPS is that the UK needs 7000 more gps -and rising at a time when workload has increased massively -at the same time there appears to be political misinformation being briefed to journalists and excess regulation and form filling As a long retired ex GP I despair at the current state of the NHS but the fault does not lie with the current staff .Ever large practices staffed by a few doctors and many alternative clinicians(nurses,paramedics ,pharmacists and physiotherapists)seems to be the future -those clinicians are good at what they are trained to do but if you need a diagnosis you need a doctor -my personal hope is that rather than the current cohort of ground down GPS retiring ,emigrating or leaving they do go private so that I have a choice to pay but I despair for those who cannot afford to pay