Doctors on TV afternoons, do your Doctors give that amount of care?

Question

The Doctors programme on each afternoon on BBC1, great
programme, but does you Doctor go out of his way to
remember you, let alone do a home visit which was not
begged for ? a lovely programme ..but true to life ???

Answer 1

My mum is a nurse and she hates that programme because she reckons it creates seriously unreal expectations of health service professionals.

Even with the best will in the world - no GP, district nurse, social worker or lawyer would have the sort of time they take on that programme to become so involved in their patients/clients lives! I saw one episode the other day when the nurse was out in the middle of her working day looking for the women who were being forced into prostitution!

All very admirable, but who was in the surgery removing patients stitches and changing dressings!? Not the GPs, that's for sure, who are usually too busy talking about their love lives in the staffroom and arguing with the patients!

Just as well its only television...

Answer 2

I have been a doctor for 3 decades. In my view most doctors I have met REALLY care. They do one of the most stressful demanding jobs on the planet, day in and day out. House visits had to become a thing of the past. When I began as a GP the average patient consulted 3 times a year- 2 for men and 4 for women. Now it is nearer 8. We spend massive amounts of our time following up, with our nurses, chronic disease,in a way that was never done in the past. Like it or not I have seen the change from art, when our patients loved us and never questioned what we did, though we could do little, to science where we can do so much, but patients dislike,distrust and criticise us.

Answer 3

I agree the TV series is based on what once was and what a private practice in a village or small town was. To hang your shingle was to mortgage your life to the community 24 hours a day. It took great fortitude to be able to cope with the influx of daily surgery and the home visits. The rewards wre home made pies, eggs chickens and being invited home occasionaly for a home cooked meal.
Society has moved on since those times, Doctors surgeries are a business and is governed by the need to make a living from the outlay of premises with high rents, electricity bills, debt chasing employing office staff The cost of night or home visits would be expensive with travel, given the oil prices and the diffculty in doing both nights and days. It would be difficult to remain competent.in dealing with the daily rush from 8.30 to 6pm with hardly time for a lunch break.
I think many of us would like to experience that laid back era when the doctor was a welcome resident in the community and not just someone to get a sick certifacte for having a day off.

Answer 4

Oh it's just hilarious isn't it?!! I don't even get to see the same doctor each time I go, let alone find one who can remember my name.
The only time I ever tried to call out a doctor at 2am, I was in agony with what turned out to be 5 slipped discs in my back, my dad rang the surgery for me because I could barely speak for crying, got the on-call number, rang it and explained what was going on. He was then told to drive halfway across town to an all-night surgery where he was given 2 Diazapam for me (yes, drugs to calm me down, nothing for the pain, no attempt to find out what was actually wrong with me) and that was that!
The idea you get from that show is that you just ring your surgery and your GP will jump in the car and come to see you. You will also notice that there are never more than 2 people waiting in the waiting room. At mine, you're lucky if you can get a seat while you wait for your appointment for which, if you're lucky, you'll be seen just under an hour after it was actually booked for.
I hope no-one actually believes these kind of places exist!

Answer 5

Hell...I wish!, Its not even slightly close 2 how my doctors r!- unfortunately, but i have noticed that they dnt seem 2 see very many patients a day. Its so silly how they just do a house call at the drop of a hat- dont they have any other patients?!.. I have 2 wait at least 2 weeks 4 an appoiontment unless its an absolute emergency!
Oh well,i guess it wouldnt make very good tv if they just saw patient after patient for 5 min slots each!

Answer 6

I love doctors. Unfortunately my real life doctors are nothing like that. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling pretty suicidal, my doctor saw me for 5 mins gave me strong tranquilizers (strong enough to do myself in with had i really decided to go through with it) and told me to come back in a couple of weeks if I didn't feel any better. Luckily I have good friends who got me through it. Sad thing is they are the best doctors I have had, and if all the doctors were like Julia et al from The Mill, the NHS would grind to a halt and no-one would ever get seen. Still it's dramatic licence I suppose!

Answer 7

You sure do know how to type! She doesn't sound like that good of a friend to me. Sounds like you are a very nice person that can easily get taken advantage of. You should never let anyone borrow money from you like that again. If you want to do something nice to help people give to charity or something. In the meantime, worry about your family first. Her needs for the money were selfish and you had to suffer with your family because of it. She was out having a good time while you were at home suffering. That is not friendship. Ditch this so called "friend." You are too good a person for that.

Answer 8

One of the doctors in my local surgery is lovely and can sit all day talking away to patients ( i dont get him very often when i book an appointment). The other one barely even listens to you and has a perscription written out before you have even stepped inside her office. She couldnt understand that I wouldnt want to take valium to get over panic attacks when I would rather have had counselling or a more natural remedy.

I dont see any of them doing home visits.

Answer 9

my doctors great and if i phone before 9 he will do a home visit at about 1, if i phone for some advice and he's not at the surgery he'll phone me back when he gets there.. once i was really worried about some hospital test so i phoned him and he phoned the lab direct for the results and then phoned me back with all the info and had my presciption wrote out for me to collect.......its a big doctors surgery with another 6 doctors but i get to see my doctor when i need to...i thought most doctors were the same but i guess I'm just lucky

Answer 10

No No No No No.
Don't even think my doctor would know me if he passed me in the street. I'm not there that often but when i do go i get fobbed off with there's nothing wrong.or that's normal....
Can't even book appointments in advance - got to phone up on the day you want to see the doctor and can't get an appointment, By the time i do no need to go.
Typical