Gp Certified Death Over Video Call

[barry1010]

My family is extremely with our GP who still makes house calls when necessary and I find this very hard to swallow.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11155325/GP-told-widow-80-certify-husbands-body-filming-chat-link.html

Is this now an acceptable procedure?

[Barmaid]

This is terrible for the family, but I imagine a bit of sensationalist reporting by the DM. If death is expected and palliative care is being given, then I understand. Doesn't make it right tho.

[anneasquith]

Sqad, the incident ?

[Sqad]

O.K had been qualified for about 18 months and was doing a GP locum in a mining village in the North.
I was called to a house by a female voice asking me to visit as "granddad" hadn't been well all day.
With my bag and stethoscope I drove to this miner's terracrd house and was led into the dining room by a young woman and the scene was a table with a sauce , a hlaf empty milk bottle and four dirty plates, knife and fork in recline. There was mum and dad and a 10 year old child and a figure, white as a sheet, stiff as a board and a flat cap with a dirty white muffler around his neck.....dead as a bloody Dodo.
I really didn't know what to say and hadn't the experience to say "he's dead" unless after pronouncing him dead, he looked up and said "Aye up lad I wanna drink my tea".

So I proceeded to examine his eyes and chest and finally said grandads dead, to which the daughter said " we know, he died last night"

Honest.......truthful.

[anneasquith]

He he ,

[barry1010]

I know there was nothing the GP could do for the deceased but the important person here is surely the new widow who could have had a lot of comfort from a sympathetic GP.
What would have happened had there not been anyone available with a smartphone?

[Redhelen72]

I am assuming the GP, tbh it never crossed my mind there was anything wrong with what happened.
Dad was dying so it was expected

[anneasquith]

On a few occasions newly qualified doctors would be sent to the wards to certify a death, they would ask ‘ will you come with me ‘ ? After they had done a very thorough exam they would say yes he’s dead. As we were exiting the room, I’d say ‘ are you sure ‘?

[Canary42]

Absolutely scandalous IMHO.

[Sqad]

LOL.

[wolf63]

There are sometimes stories in the media of autopsies starting only for the doctor to discover that the deceased is alive.

There are a few ailments where a person can appear to be dead until a closer inspection is made.

I knew my dad was dead but it was nice to get a second opinion.

[ParsleyDumpling]

I think if it is an expected death and the deceased has been seen by a GP within the last 28 days, then that GP can issue a death certificate without viewing the body. However if the patient had not been seen within 28 days, then the duty GP will view the deceased and contact the Coroner for advice re. the death certificate. At least that is what happens where I work.

[gness]

The book I was reading last night got me thinking of this again. The article says the doctor was her GP too. So she was his patient to care for.
It doesn't matter for how long or how ill your husband was. When you're sitting holding your husband's hand as he dies you need a little bit of care and help yourself over the next few hours. A doctor should want to provide that...not tell you to photograph your dead husband.

So would I name and shame him? Yes, and I'd strike the uncaring creature off.

[barry1010]

I agree with you, gness

[Peter Pedant]

this is reported speech

I would like to see more direct detail. ( altho... when a neighbour died, the receptionist said - "15 d - he's not coming" and there was very little we cd do about it.)

[youngmafbog]

The NHS was lost many years ago. It needs total reform but its used as a political football by the political parties, especially labour (but not alone) who bleat about privatisation every time it is suggested it needs reform (Even though St Tony was the worst culprit for that).

The decline will continue until it implodes, no amount of money will fix it, money just disappears as Gordon Brown and now Boris Johnson found out.

Once it implodes (and it will) most will no longer be able to afford health care, all because politicians (who I wouldnt be surprised if they had private health care like many doctors I know) wanted to make political capital on it.

[youngmafbog]

If you struck of every uncaring GP we would have a real problem.

[Canary42]

///its used as a political football by the political parties,///


and by Abers

[youngmafbog]

ABers - so what, who cares about AB (apart form us). We have zero influence, politicians do.

[ubasses]

I read about this over the weekend, the article said this procedure was bought in to be used only during the panic. When I looked it up it expired on 24 March this year.

[barry1010]

That's interesting, ubasses