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Face to Face Consultations

  • 25-05-2021 9:04am
    #1
    Gael23
    Registered Users Posts: 12,086 ✭✭✭✭


    14 months into Covid my GP is still not seeing patients unless deemed absolutely necessary and i'm getting fed up of it. My own job makes it difficult because I never know what time he will call me at and also from a privacy perspective I might not always be somewhere I can discuss things openly.

    I am at the point of looking for a new doctor but im wondering are all surgeries doing the same and I am just replacing one problem with another?


Comments

  • #2
    RoamingDoc
    Registered Users Posts: 174 ✭✭RoamingDoc


    Any GP I've interacted with lately has being utilizing a policy of not doing things face to face unless absolutely necessary. No point in risking a GP being taken out of action due to infection for something that could be done remotely.

    All GPs I've dealt with recently don't like doing things this way, but they don't really have a choice until things get more under control.


    I would think it's likely that if you switch your GP for this reason, that you'll end up in the same boat again.


  • #3
    Gael23
    Registered Users Posts: 12,086 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    I understood until a point where him and all the practice staff were vaccinated.

    The 2 things that bother me are having to tell the reception staff what’s wrong, which I don’t mind if it’s something routine but I do if it’s to do with my ongoing medical condition.
    But more for me it’s that the doctor can ring you at any time. And if I’m on a client call for work I can’t answer. Whereas before Covid I was able to just block off an hour in my diary no problem


  • #4
    RoamingDoc
    Registered Users Posts: 174 ✭✭RoamingDoc


    Gael23 wrote: »
    I understood until a point where him and all the practice staff were vaccinated.

    I would imagine we won't see a change to this until the vast majority of the public are also vaccinated. Vaccines work at the personal and population level but the population level is often said to be more important.
    Gael23 wrote: »
    The 2 things that bother me are having to tell the reception staff what’s wrong, which I don’t mind if it’s something routine but I do if it’s to do with my ongoing medical condition.
    But more for me it’s that the doctor can ring you at any time. And if I’m on a client call for work I can’t answer. Whereas before Covid I was able to just block off an hour in my diary no problem

    These are really big problems. To be honest, I don't do telemedicine and never have as I'm in emergency med at the moment so it's just not a feature of my professional life, which makes my opinion not particularly relevant. Those are timetabling and triage issues but I'm not sure how your GP could address those.

    Without knowing what the practice staff are like, would it be possible to tell them that it's for a review of an ongoing issue?
    Personally, I don't discuss anything clinical unless it's with my GP or the practice nurse. That is made a lot easier for me though as the other practice staff have never asked me for any details.


  • #5
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,667 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Switch.

    My GP's staff offer a video consultation - but when I said "no she'll need to see me for this", they booked an initial F2F appointment.

    Also, tele / video consults should be scheduled exactly the same way that F2F are. No excuse for them just ringing you at any of time, when you could be anywhere and not able to speak privately.


  • #6
    Gael23
    Registered Users Posts: 12,086 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    Switch.

    My GP's staff offer a video consultation - but when I said "no she'll need to see me for this", they booked an initial F2F appointment.

    Also, tele / video consults should be scheduled exactly the same way that F2F are. No excuse for them just ringing you at any of time, when you could be anywhere and not able to speak privately.

    As well as the privacy issue if I happen to be on a client call for work when he rings me back I can’t answer. I spend a lot of my day on zoom meetings in work, was that way before Covid but if I had something like a doctors appointment I just blocked off a few hours in my calendar . Now your put in a list and he rings you if he says he needs see me I may have to cancel client meetings last minute

    I’m not finding it easy to get another doctor taking on new patients, particularly with a medical card


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  • #7
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,667 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Gael23 wrote: »
    As well as the privacy issue if I happen to be on a client call for work when he rings me back I can’t answer. I spend a lot of my day on zoom meetings in work, was that way before Covid but if I had something like a doctors appointment I just blocked off a few hours in my calendar . Now your put in a list and he rings you if he says he needs see me I may have to cancel client meetings last minute

    I’m not finding it easy to get another doctor taking on new patients, particularly with a medical card

    Can you give him an "appointment" when you are put on the list: tell them "I will be free between 9-10am and 3-4pm. At other times, I will not be able to take a call"?


  • #8
    cee_jay
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 7,920 Mod ✭✭✭✭cee_jay


    I've had telephone consultations and my surgery gives me a time which the doctor calls back. They have said it could run up to 20 mins behind, especially if it is later in the day. Ask for the appointment time range


  • #9
    angeldelight
    Registered Users Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭angeldelight


    Some GPs really do seem to be taking it to the extreme - not seeing babies even, who can deteriorate really quickly. Thankfully our GP has taken a more patient-focused approach and we have never had an issue seeing them face to face the whole time


  • #10
    Vorsprung
    Registered Users Posts: 2,814 ✭✭✭Vorsprung


    angeldelight wrote: »
    Some GPs really do seem to be taking it to the extreme - not seeing babies even, who can deteriorate really quickly. Thankfully our GP has taken a more patient-focused approach and we have never had an issue seeing them face to face the whole time

    That strikes me as somewhat unsafe.


  • #11
    Gael23
    Registered Users Posts: 12,086 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    cee_jay wrote: »
    I've had telephone consultations and my surgery gives me a time which the doctor calls back. They have said it could run up to 20 mins behind, especially if it is later in the day. Ask for the appointment time range
    That would be fine, if I had a window of say 2 hours I could block that time off, I could live with that ok. Or at least be working on things that it doesn’t matter if I get disturbed from
    angeldelight wrote: »
    Some GPs really do seem to be taking it to the extreme - not seeing babies even, who can deteriorate really quickly. Thankfully our GP has taken a more patient-focused approach and we have never had an issue seeing them face to face the whole time

    I got an eye infection just after Christmas and I was asked to email in a photograph of it


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  • #12
    Dempo1
    Registered Users Posts: 26,921 ✭✭✭✭Dempo1


    Important issue raised by OP but I feel its the same issue at most GP surgeries. I've a long term illness and supposed to get bloods done every 3 months and check blood pressure , it's been a year now, as an aside I'm also supposed to see my endocrinologist every 6 months, it's been 14 months, to be fair, he reverted to telephone consultation and I had one in the past 14 months, so it's not just GP surgeries impacted.

    Ironically I got my 1st Vacinne Jab at my Gp"s only a week ago, 1st time in 14 months I was in the surgery, she used to opportunity to check up on me as much as possible , she mentioned even if she could do bloods, she was unable too because of the cyber attack so more complications to the mix.

    OP, notwithstanding your GP having your medical history to hand, changing GP presently not wise and besides, it's highly likely another GP will take you on at the moment and perhaps into the immediate future.

    Is maith an scáthán súil charad.




  • #13
    Night owl gal
    Registered Users Posts: 362 ✭✭Night owl gal


    anyone have any idea when things may go back to normal?


  • #14
    Surreptitious
    Registered Users Posts: 8,130 ✭✭✭Surreptitious


    My doctor is seeing me?


  • #15
    huskerdu
    Registered Users Posts: 1,931 ✭✭✭huskerdu


    Dempo1 wrote: »
    Important issue raised by OP but I feel its the same issue at most GP surgeries. I've a long term illness and supposed to get bloods done every 3 months and check blood pressure , it's been a year now, as an aside I'm also supposed to see my endocrinologist every 6 months, it's been 14 months, to be fair, he reverted to telephone consultation and I had one in the past 14 months, so it's not just GP surgeries impacted.

    Ironically I got my 1st Vacinne Jab at my Gp"s only a week ago, 1st time in 14 months I was in the surgery, she used to opportunity to check up on me as much as possible , she mentioned even if she could do bloods, she was unable too because of the cyber attack so more complications to the mix.

    .

    I know that the problems caused by the cyber attack has impacted blood tests, but up to that, I've been having 3 monthly blood tests in my GP for the last year.

    I also think its appalling that people have been asked medical information by a receptionist. I've had to have remote appointments with my GP and I have been asked anything. The receptionist just makes the appointment as normal.


  • #16
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I have found in the past year that medical services are most unsatisfactory. For a start no doctor will listen to your chest or exam you orally, with the result that I had a ton of negative covid tests done for what turned out to be a pocket of chronic bacterial infection which in turn seems to have been related to a severe dental abscess. I ended up spending several nights in a hospital due to lack of access to timely examination.


  • #17
    Gael23
    Registered Users Posts: 12,086 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    I have found in the past year that medical services are most unsatisfactory. For a start no doctor will listen to your chest or exam you orally, with the result that I had a ton of negative covid tests done for what turned out to be a pocket of chronic bacterial infection which in turn seems to have been related to a severe dental abscess. I ended up spending several nights in a hospital due to lack of access to timely examination.

    Yes that’s correct. A doctors now treats things like tonsillitis based solely on symptoms.

    I was also in a supermarket recently and an old lady had fallen but the pharmacy there said they could not check her blood pressure due to Covid regulations


  • #18
    locum-motion
    Registered Users Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    Gael23 wrote: »
    Yes that’s correct. A doctors now treats things like tonsillitis based solely on symptoms.

    I was also in a supermarket recently and an old lady had fallen but the pharmacy there said they could not check her blood pressure due to Covid regulations

    Old lady fallen in supermarket = 999. Call an ambulance and the paramedics will know what to do. Until they get there, first aid.

    No reason to get a pharmacist involved at all.

    And even if the pharmacist did take blood pressure; what would you expect them to do with the information it gave them? Literally the only thing would be to tell the paramedics or doctor when they get there. So, completely pointless.


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