Why is the standard of English GPs surgeries and the standard of care offered the GP's themselves so poor?

Question

Personal experience has made me so dispondent, I don't even bother going to my doctor, I go to a drop in clinic (a new NHS centre) in a neighbouring borough.
I am supposed to take my son to child health clinic at my GPs but the place is always full, it's too small for it's purpose and it isn't somewhere I would really like to take him anyway.
I went to 3 other surgeries in the area to check them out, they are all as bad as each other.
I checked out the performance thing on the NHS website for the PCT abd it said 'POOR'. Why do we have to put up with this sub-standard care?

Answer 1

Coming from the other side of things, as a working practice nurse, I have to say I completely agree with you. But PLEASE don't blame your GP, or their staff, they are trying their best to help their patients in these conditions. The government has put a HUGE amount of pressure on us to meet targets, cut down on waiting times, etc etc, and if we don't meet their unachieveable standards, we don't get funding. GP's can't afford the staff they need to provide a good service, we're not allowed to book patient appointments in advance, we can't afford all the equipment we need. I think though that the NHS in general is suffering with the same problem, not enough funding and too much pressure. Every day we prescribe medications that cost about 3 times more than the £6.50 presription charge, and the difference in cost comes out of our budget. The NHS is still a free service, all be it a very expensive one!

Answer 2

You should have been around 50 years ago! You think they're bad now?
Imagine a smallish private house - brown painted wallpaper in the waiting room - table which has seen better days in the middle with copies of Punch magazine which were several years out of date. Not a matching seat but a lot of people are standing anyway. No receptionist. No appointment system. No W.C. You either walk in and count the number of glum people arranged all round the wall and try to reckon who was last in or you break the deadly silence and ask tentatively, "Who was last in?" To which you may get a grunt from said person.
Shuffle into doctor, who more or less says "Sit down, shut up. I'm the doctor and I'll tell you what's wrong with you".
Pregnant? No blood tests, scans not been invented. Weigh yourself on a public scale and tell doc what your weight is.
If you look at us older folk in the modern surgeries these days and we look happy, it's because we think the facilities are wonderful and our GPs will actually explain things to us.

Answer 3

i have noticed how bad my doctors surgery has become.

there are too many patients at my doctors and if you want to see the main doctor there is a three week waiting list and you are only allowed to make an appointment two weeks in advance so in other words you cant.

I too have give up on my surgery I have been ill with a chest infection for 4 weeks and I would rather go to the chemist then try to get an appointment

Answer 4

Well the good thing is that it's free - don't knock that. The bad thing is that you aren't the paying customer, the government is. GPs get paid for the number of patients registered to them. So the more patients registered, the more they get paid. There is no incentive for them to spend time with you. Every time you visit you are a nuisance.

Answer 5

I'm lucky my doctor has a purpose built surgery, Mornings are first come first served afternoons are by appointment. My one niggle is no Saturday mornings, but you can not have everything. I have not needed to call a doctor out in an emergency thank God