GPs worry as much as ever, so be patient – Dr. Ben Allen Yorkshire News

In recent years, the way you get help from general practice has changed significantly. However, these changes have not always been explained to patients.

Concerns expressed include patients who are not seen face to face or who are not allowed to request a GP. Many patients have felt confused, abandoned, and angry. If the changes were made due to Covid, why is the general practice not returning to normal?

As a GP, I will try to explain it.

In the past, to see a GP, all you had to do was ask. Now when you call, a receptionist can ask you about your problem. They may offer you a phone call from a GP or help from a different professional. Many people think, “But I just want to see a GP!” Here is the background to the problem. Patients live longer, have more medical problems, and many more medications. The complexity of the general practice has increased enormously. But the number of GPs has decreased. General practice was overwhelmed for years before the pandemic added more tension.

One solution was to introduce new roles, such as nurses, pharmacists, and physical therapists. These professionals are highly trained and knowledgeable in the areas in which they specialize.

The particular role of the GP is to care for patients with complex or multiple medical problems and to support the team. New services such as ophthalmological units and minor injury units have also been developed. So now there are many options.

If patients are allowed to choose who they can see, GPs are quickly booked in full. This often happens on a first-come, first-served basis, for example, “call at 8:30 AM.”

One problem with this is that GPs will spend time with patients who might have been treated by other members of the team. And with the GP fully booked, the most complex patients have no one available to help them. An alternative to this is called “triage.” Ranking is about matching your problem to the best person to help you.

The receptionist asks you a bit about your problem and is able to convey it to the appropriate person in the office. If a problem turns out to be more complicated than expected, we all have access to the expertise of the entire team.

All staff respect strict confidentiality. This new way of working can be uncomfortable. But using the entire team to meet the needs of all of our patients is the most important thing.

Why did this change during the pandemic and will it change again?

Many surgeries used triage to help manage workload more effectively before the pandemic.

However, when Covid appeared, all surgeries had to go through triage to control the risks of infection. The hidden benefit of these surgeries was that triage also allowed them to increase the total number of appointments.

With general practice near the breaking point, many surgeries will continue to work this way. With triage, we can help more patients and prioritize those who need us the most.

When will GPs start seeing people face to face?

Contrary to common belief, GPs have continued to work face-to-face during the pandemic. We classify patients to a personal appointment where we judge that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Moving forward, the number of face-to-face dating will continue to reflect the risks of Covid transmission. We hope they both improve. Most patients and healthcare professionals prefer face-to-face appointments. Sometimes they are necessary medically and to build the relationship.

Many surgeries increased phone and Internet use during the pandemic. Sometimes this can be effective and safe and also save time. If we want to provide quality care in an underfunded general practice, we are forced to make cumbersome changes.

To help cope with the pressures, we will need to balance the need to work face-to-face with the efficiency of alternatives.

Lastly, there are frustrations of doors remaining closed. Going into surgeries last year, we had Covid patients, patients without masks, and vulnerable or unvaccinated patients.

Queuing inside was not safe. Surgeries introduced intercoms to handle this. As risks decrease, most surgeries will reopen doors. We know that changes to the services you trust can leave you feeling neglected, insecure, and vulnerable.

This is especially true of something as important as your health. General practice could have better explained these changes. Although they seem less visible, GPs actually offer more appointments than ever. Classifying patients with the most suitable person may seem restrictive, but it helps to ensure that your GP is available when you need him.

Achieving what is expected of general practice, with the workforce that we have, is now an almost impossible task. We have never stopped caring deeply for our patients. These changes are because we want to make sure you are still getting the care you need.