Should GPs resume seeing patients face to face?

MY SON is an emergency department consultant who has worked throughout the pandemic seeing patients and on the air ambulance. Why then has my GP’s surgery been locked up like Fort Knox and is not seeing most patients face to face? When will GPs get back to normal or is this what we are to get used to?

LINDA MARTIN, Poole, Dorset.

I AGREE it’s time for GPs to get back to working as normal (Letters). With proper procedures and vetting of patients, they would be able to deal with the medical issues that are building up and not being resolved. Phone and online consultations are a farce. there is too much reliance on technology to deal with patients who are often vulnerable and not techno-savvy. A friend had six calls from five GPs, but none would see her face to face and she ended up in hospital as a result. I have terminal cancer and have not been contacted or seen by my GP or consultant since February.

M. E. ALLAN, Newcastle upon Tyne.

I AM delighted with the treatment I have received at my GP’s surgery since the end of lockdown. I was asked to go in for my annual type 2 diabetic test and the next day a doctor phoned to say I was anaemic. I have been back twice for blood tests. I have also had my quarterly appointment at the foot clinic and new hearing aids.

PATRICK COX, Madley, Herefordshire.

It’S time for GP practices to get back to normal. However, I doubt this will happen as many had stopped home visits before Covid-19 took hold. For some patients a phone consultation is more convenient than having to go to the surgery, but what about people like me who suffer from hearing loss? How are we supposed to access medical treatment?

Name supplied, Sutton Coldfield, W. Mids.

A GP travelled from Cornwall to London to take part in an Extinction Rebellion demonstration, saying ‘climate emergency is also a health emergency’. I assume she booked a day’s leave and that throughout the pandemic she has continued to see her patients.

Name supplied, Colchester, Essex.