Part-time GPs

[Earl Aelfheah]

... that said, it's nothing to do with people working Part-time - it's just inadequate capacity.

[Bic Basher]

I was fortunate to ring 306 Medical Centre on Thursday for an appointment for today (Tuesday).

[PeckhamRose]

We have a big new surgery and health centre being built next to Dulwich Hospital. This should prove useful.

Meanwhile, I spoke to one of the now-part-time doctors at my surgery recently and he said indeed he does come in on his days off to do the paperwork, or he would never get it done. Even on days he is working he will come in earlier and stay later to ensure all the paperwork is done.

Also, consider the fact many come out of medical school after 7 plus years in sometimes hundreds of thousands of debt. Their salary will thus be decreased accordingly as they pay it back.

I have worked as a 'simulated patient' for trainee GPs. For this you are given a script and a scenario and a full medical history which you have to learn. And then you are seen by about 10 different trainee doctors with an examiner in the room. You go in and state your situation, sometimes just the symptoms or sometimes underlying issues associated with symptoms. You have to be the same character for all the trainee GPs to be fair to them all, never helping them. I find it fascinating to see which ones are confident and spot on, as it were, and some poor souls just barely get a word out, they are so nervous. Most though, ask the right questions and get through to the medical cause. It's a hell of a day for them.

[George Orwell]

Returning to the salaries discussion: don't overlook that GPs need indemnity insurance. Some practices may help with this element and some will not. MDU (Medical Defence Union)insurance can be in the region of ?5000 - ?7000 per year. Some types of cover need to be paid for (on sliding scale downwards) for up to 7 years after leaving the job. Most GPs must hold a driving licence as part of the job too and GPs are at the top of end of risk leading to relatively high premiums as well.

[mayo]

uncleglen the article you've posted is from 2006! 12 years ago. There have been more than a few cutbacks in all areas of the NHS since then. And specifically, after all the post Blair Daily mail type outrage at GP salaries (which in reality only some GP's outside London in dispensing pracices were getting) the Gov have made huge cuts to GP funding.

A good friend is a partner in a GP practice in a deprived area of London. She has taken a pay cut along with other partners for the last 3 years in order to keep the practice running. A salaried GP at her practice earns around ?7k per year per session they do. Most GP's do around 5 - 7 sessions a week - there are 2 sessions a day but the day my friend does both sessions she arrives at work at 7am and leaves around 9pm and then does at least an hours admin from home so it is not really sustainable for anybody to do this 5 days per week.

They are struggling to recruit GP's, nurses and admin staff as they just can't afford to pay a good salary.

Practices are paid for the number of patients they have on their books and not per visit. So if you have a practice in an affluent area where people don't go to the GP much, you can have a lot more patients on your books and still manage. GP practices in deprived areas can't take on as many patients as their patients will be far more demanding. My friend has numerous patients who visit daily or at least 2 - 3 times a week - many with mental health issues, poor housing, drug dependence issues etc.

[bsand]

AI is going to transform healthcare in the very near future and GP's are the easiest to replace. A 24 hour robot that knows all your medical history has access to all the latest medical knowledge can test your blood, breath , blood pressure , eye colour respond to your questions will increasingly be the first line of healthcare. I for one would welcome an all hours access GP AI acess booth if they were to become available.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-in-the-nhs-how-artificial-intelligence-will-change-everything-for-patients-and-doctors/

[George Orwell]

bsand Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> AI is going to transform healthcare in the very

> near future and GP's are the easiest to replace. A

> 24 hour robot that knows all your medical history

> has access to all the latest medical knowledge can

> test your blood, breath , blood pressure , eye

> colour respond to your questions will increasingly

> be the first line of healthcare. I for one would

> welcome an all hours access GP AI acess booth if

> they were to become available.

>

>

> https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-in-the-nhs-how-ar

> tificial-intelligence-will-change-everything-for-p

> atients-and-doctors/

I am afraid that we will all be long dead by the time this scenario comes about.

An NHS which still uses fax machines and paper files, where staff get viruses on outdated Windows 98 computers will take a long, long time to advance to the world of AI.

[PeckhamRose]

bsand thanks for this post. I think it is inevitable this will be the case and it will help a lot of people. Let me give an analogy of a similar case. Actors now have access to on line casting forums. We have to put our details into it and experience and special skills etc. I was at a meeting with some experienced casting directors years ago. One said, "An online casting tool could be asked for, and supply, an actor who is 6ft, playing age 45 to 55, with juggling skills and speaks Welsh, but I could supply one at 5ft 11 inch who I know can act and is ready to play a lead role."

The similarity to health situation is that it would be up to our doctors and consultants and, most importantly, us, to have the right to put in place all of our details and medical history into the AI which could take a long time. Remember that many mistakes are recorded as fact on GP and Hospital Records (I have successfully been able to amend though not allowed to erase...). But a human doctor who knows the patient well, knows that some types of patient respond to certain types of responses, which AI can never replicate. With the fear of hacking / inappropriate access into our medical AI accounts, would we have to waive our right to, for example, travel or health insurance if we refused them access to our AI records? Lots of future concerns there. But thanks for raising it!