Doctors Opening Hours

[mikey4444]

My avatar, Nye Bevan, said that he managed to get the NHS off the ground,
by "stuffing the mouths of Doctors with gold"

It seems that the practise is still ongoing :::

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33191120

GP's already get paid eye-watering amounts of money, and now they may even get more. I don't know about 7 day opening, but I would be delighted if I was able to get an appointment to see my GP anytime from Monday to Friday, let alone the weekends !

[Sqad]

^^^^ oh! dear.........I will survive no doubt TTT.

[anneasquith]

this is a news topic I believe, not chatterbank ?

[jennyjoan]

to bathsheba - that is how I feel a pesky patient and if I go about 2 or 3 times a year that would be it - the rest is repeat prescriptions.

[Peter Pedant]

// "stuffing the mouths of Doctors with gold" //

The trouble with Mikey and Sqad quoting history is that if they dont know it then they get it wrong

who said "those who dont know history, are condemned to misquote it" ?

Bevan is meant to have said "I have stuffed their mouths with gold"
and was referring to the consultants only

The GPs were unrewarded in this way and there was a commission chaired by Danckwerts J who awarded the GPs their whack in 1952 !

it is all here
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/conservative-rule.htm


other good quotes by Bevan
"the gt secret about the NHS pension pot is that there is no NHS pension pot"
( NHS pensions contributions are spent in the fiscal year they are collected - which is why the NHS pension fund is in deficit of £ 163 bn )

Naughty Sqad !
Mikey is excused because he has an axe to grind

[Peter Pedant]

// this is a news topic I believe, not chatterbank ?//

o dear I thought it as history
I sure someone mentioned Nye Bevan

[Bathsheba]

JJ.....same for me. My theory regarding their attitude is many of them haven't experienced the real world of work. Yes, their training is long + no doubt arduous, but they go straight from school/college to Uni, then to hospital, with nurses/care assistants as a buffer between them + the patients, then into general practice with practice nurses + receptionists to keep their personal bubbles intact.

[jennyjoan]

bathsheba - there ya go - from literally from the mouths of babes.

[bazwillrun]

Oh dear PP
dont go criticising mikey you know he really really doesnt like that, thats his entitlement on here , or so he seems to think....

[Retrochic]

Here is a thought. In some Canadian Provinces you pay a fee to go to see the doctor-not a huge amount like private would be, but enough to stop the 'I've got a blocked up nose and need antibiotic brigade'. If you receive a prescription you pay up front. In both instances you get a certificate which has your SIN number (National health number), which you then send in and get a refund, on a sliding scale of your costs depending on your income. This is very effect in reducing the amount of people going to the GP for minor things they could self-medicate. If you need a referral to a specialist it is done, and from that moment on consultations are free. When i Canada I rarely had to wait more tha 14 days for a non emergency Consultation and less than 7 for more urgent.

The main problem I can see with the GP problem is that people on certain benefits get free prescriptions,so they will go to the doctor to get free medication (including ibuprofen and paracetamol) that they would have to pay for at pharmacies.

[jennyjoan]

I had to pay £10 for a wash for the nether region last week - but couldn't believe a friend suggested to me Conne you shoulda got on prescription - like I couldn't believe that. I try and pay for my over the counter treatment - sometimes they are more expensive if you WERE to pay for the prescription. This is why I did suggest a small fee would be appropriate.

[Old_Geezer]

What the public wants is an NHS that works properly with doctors and other medical staff taken on for a fair rate and giving an acceptable service. Not something that only the rich can afford and the rest suffer: much better the public kitty spends to provide than the individuals are expected to pay top rates or go without. And if 7 days a week cover is required then the contracts signed should provide that between them. Surely not that difficult.

I do not believe the rest of the world has the need for so many excessive reward positions that this country would lose all proficient medical staff if opting got be fair rather than bountiful. The argument that we would lose, doctors, or bankers, or industry leaders is always a scare tactic. Some would go, others would replace them, no one notices the change after a while.

[jennyjoan]

btw - re locums - my lovely retired doctor just retired a cuppla months ago - I knew this would exactly happen - he is back as a locum. Remember - no pressure, more money, and no stress. Wish I had backed a winner on that.

[jennyjoan]

Doesn't Katie Price a millionaire claim for Harvey - I guess she is entitled she has probably paid her stamps etc.

[Retrochic]

OG I don't agree. This going to the GP for free medication should be discouraged. The other day I was in a full GP surgery and an elderly lady came in and started talking to me and it turns out she had come to see the GP for some anti-histamine tabs as her eyes were itchy. She could have gone down to the pharmacy in the village and got some,but no, she will no doubt be on free prescriptions so is taking up a 5 minute slot from someone else. This is what needs addressing, not giving GP's more money.

[Old_Geezer]

Better one comes in and gets aid that wasn’t part of the intent of the NHS than folk are discouraged from coming in and getting serious symptoms undiagnosed.

In any case there is no reason a GP could not diagnose something then dispense advice on what to get to help. A free prescription need not be the answer to all health diagnosis.

But I wasn’t suggesting throwing money at something is the answer, I was suggesting what we wanted from an NHS was to pay a fair rate for the job out of the public kitty, and to receive a decent service provided in return. I think the public at large do not wish to go to an, "Everyone for themselves and if you can't afford it then tough", system as seems to be the case elsewhere, and advocated by the few.

[Retrochic]

I'm not advocating going into the corner shop and self-medicating,but to go initially to your local chemists. Pharmacists are trained in minor diagnostics and quite capable of diagnosing hay fever or a head cold. They are also trained to refer to GP's when they think further investigation is necessary. If the patient has health issues and gets their prescriptions from the pharmacy,they have access to their medication history and from that can also decide if the minor problem is in fact the start of something more serious and then refer to the GP.

[stuey]

Retro, I don't know which Provinces you are alluding to; however, in Ontario I don't have to pay a fee to see my GP or any specialist he might refer me to. Also, I don't have to pay for any prescriptions that he orders. Plus I can always get an appointment with him within a few days of calling the office.

[mikey4444]

Baz...the rot you are spouting today exceeds even your normal low standards. My comments at 09:21 were meant as tongue in cheek, as I am sure TTT recognised.

Why don't you make some real contributions to this debate, instead of just carping from the sidelines with your childish comments ? You are like the silly little boy who sticks his tongue at people, and then runs for it. Grow up !

[Retrochic]

Stuey - Alberta

[stuey]

OK, thanks: quite different then.