Derbyshire doctor speaks out after ‘GP bashing’

The number of online appointments held by GPs has soared over lockdown due to efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and an undue burden on health services.

They have also been deployed to prevent ill patients or those without transport having to travel to an in-person appointment at a medical centre.

NHS England wrote to all GP practices this week to make sure they are communicating the fact doctors can be seen in person if necessary, as well as virtually.

Nikki Kanani, medical director of primary care for NHS England, said: “While many people, particularly those most vulnerable to Covid-19, want the convenience of a consultation over the phone or video, the NHS has been and will continue to offer face-to-face appointments and I would urge anyone who feels they need medical support to come forward so they can get the care, support and advice they need – the NHS is here for you.”

NHS England said it would be reminding GPs they faced enforcement action if they failed to offer face-to-face appointments when necessary on medical grounds.

In response, Dr Kath Markus, chief executive of the Derby and Derbyshire Local Medical Committee, which oversees all 116 practices in the county and city, wrote to all Derbyshire GP practices.

Dr Markus wrote: “We are writing to thank you for your continued hard work in the face of unprecedented demand, and in light of the demoralising media onslaught in response to NHS England’s letter reiterating ‘the importance of providing face-to-face appointments for those who need them’.

“As your local medical committee, we know how tirelessly general practice teams have worked before and throughout the six-plus months of the pandemic“You have continued to provide quality care throughout the most difficult of circumstances.

“All the time you have continued to provide face-to-face care for those patients who need it, in the face of scarce personal protective equipment (PPE) and whilst managing high levels of staff absence as a result of the pandemic.

“We wholly reject both the implication from NHS England that you are not seeing patients and the subsequent media ‘GP bashing’.

“We are appalled that this letter was reported in the media before it was sent to GPs which serves to undermine doctor-patient relationships and trust.

“As your colleagues and representative organisation, we ask that you try and ignore this further attack on your morale; we know you will continue to provide the high quality care you always have.”

During lockdown, Dr Gail Allsopp, a GP at West Hallam Medical Centre had said she was still conducting face-to-face visits to people’s homes by talking to them through a closed window.

She said a huge benefit of patients coming in for face-to-face visits was that they often simultaneously disclose other potentially unrelated health and social care issues.

This is why Dr Allsopp said general practice must remain face-to-face but agrees it “will change at the end of all of this and I think it will probably change for the better and we will use technology in a much better way than we have ever used it in the past”.

Data from NHS Digital shows that between March and July around half of the 102 million GP appointments were held by video or phone call.

A report compiled by Healthwatch Englnd found 85 per cent of medical consultations are now being carried out remotely.

Meanwhile, a survey of GPs by the British Medical Association found 88 per cent wanted to see an increase in remote or virtual consultations in the future.

Healthwatch Derbyshire, a patient watchdog, has been researching the reasons why residents in the city and county have chosen not to access or been unable to access virtual appointments.

Its findings will be published later this year.

Healthwatch Derbyshire chief executive Helen Henderson-Spoors explained: “During the Covid pandemic there has been a significant rise in the use of digital services in place of face-to-face services, such as telephone appointments, video consultations, text messaging and others.

“Recent research highlighted the positives of this new way of working for all concerned but we are very mindful that virtual consultations are not appropriate for everyone.

“This project therefore aims to highlight where virtual appointments may not have met the needs of patients and help to provide understanding for the reasons why people had not engaged with services in a virtual format.

“We are keen to engage with as many people as possible across a broad cross section of our local communities and this information will be fed through to decision-makers to help shape how health services are delivered in the future.”

Meanwhile, Joined Up Care Derbyshire, a combination of all health and care services in the county and city, is asking residents to tell them about the effect which Covid-19 and lockdown has had on their health and care needs.

It said: “We will be asking people to tell us their ideas for how they would like to look after their health and care in the future.

“We will ask people what they have stopped doing during COVID, what they started doing differently and what they plan to carry on doing.

“This might be about how they use health and care services or about how they look after their own health and care.”

To take part visit https://derbyshireics.uk.engagementhq.com/joined-up-care-derbyshire.

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