The Gp Substitute Will See You Now

[naomi24]

//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.

[Sqad]

woofy....nitpicking?

Just my attempt to appreciate your point of view without agree with you.

[naomi24]

I hope the diversion here hasn't killed this thread. I really would like to know how willing people are to see a substitute for GP.

[Mamyalynne]

I will happily see a Nurse Practitioner, a phlebotomist or other health professional for non urgent issues rather than take up a GP appointment.

As regards home visits, I haven't had the need to arrange one of those for over 10 years since my Husband died and hopefully I won't have need to again.

[sanmac]

I don't think, Naomi24, that I would want to be seen by anyone but a qualified MD. A person who has trained for years, and has the knowledge and (hopefully) the experience to reach a diagnosis determined by an initial assessment of the patient and the interpretation of various appropriately ordered diagnostic tests and procedures.

[sanmac]

I suppose I should qualify my previous post by saying when I go in for a routine physical and when I suspect that there is something really wrong with me.

[woofgang]

sorry naomi, you are right....absolutely happy to see the healthcare professional that I need directly rather than work through any kind of GP operated gatekeeping system and provided that those healthcare professionals can send me directly on to another professional if they are not the right one and have the training to do so.....mind you I speak as a person who created and operated such a system, albeit in a small way, before I retired. We had a central access point and a short simple routing questionnaire to direct the person to the right professional from the get go. It worked well. Around 90% of the time the person saw the right professional first time, and when they didn't it was usually because of something they had not mentioned. We did also catch the occasional more serious issue (usually mild stroke, a couple of fractures, a few serious infections requiring hospitalisation) faster than would have happened if they had waited for a GP appointment because all our work was in the community so it was easier to swing by a new referral's home than it would have been for a GP. It saved everyone's time and effort, saved the NHS resource and the patients loved it.