LET US SEE THE DOCTOR
Furious patients demand return of face-to-face appointments with GP
DESPERATE patients are demanding the return of face-to-face appointments with GPs as Scotland moves out of lockdown.
Surgeries have been virtually shut since the Covid crisis began, with many doctors preferring to diagnose patients by phone.
It has led to fears that people’s health is being put at risk.
FURIOUS patients are demanding government action as GPs are still refusing to give face-to-face appointments.
Surgeries have been virtually sealed shut from the public for 18 months following the Covid-19 crisis.
And despite the country moving out of lockdown, doctors are still preferring to diagnose patients over the phone.
It has led to fears that people’s health is being put at risk unnecessarily.
Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie yesterday called on the SNP to review the lock-out and instruct GPs to re-open surgery doors.
She said: “Patients are getting increasingly frustrated by not being able to get face-to-face appointments with their GPs.
“I could paper my walls with the number of concerns raised with me.
“Instead people end up referring themselves to Out of Hours services or turning up at the front door of A&E which is just not appropriate.
“GPs have worked very hard all throughout the pandemic and they deserve our thanks but they are still having to operate to Scottish Government and health board guidelines which have not changed.
“It is time that the Scottish Government reviewed the position to allow GPs to have more face-toface appointments with their patients now that other restrictions are lifted.”
It comes as patients unable to get an appointment say they have developed more serious symptoms.
Fiona Weir, 43, from Castlemilk, Glasgow, said she is afraid a delayed skin cancer diagnosis has put her life at risk.
And while she has had treatment for a malignant melanoma, she now faces years of scans and tests to ensure the cancer has not spread or returned.
She said: “I was phoning my doctor saying this mole doesn’t look like it is behaving but I kept being told, ‘we’re not seeing anyone just now’.”
Fiona eventually spoke to a different GP who asked her to send photographs of the mole. She was immediately referred to hospital as an urgent case.
However the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and reached stage three – the second most serious level.
She said: “Melanoma is not just something that will go away. You don’t just cut it out and get on with your life.
“It is a killer, an absolute killer, and I’m not out of the woods yet.”
Being locked out of surgeries has also had an impact on workers who need to go through a medical before they can earn a living.
LGV ( formerly HGV) driver James Smith was forced off the road because he couldn’t be examined by his GP and have his licence renewed.
James, of Ayrshire, said: “Once you reach 45 you need to renew your licence every five years until you are 60 and then it is every four years.
“But you need a medical to prove you are fit to drive.
“The medical checks your eyesight, blood pressure, chest and heart as well as checking for diabetes.
“They can’t be done over the phone. You need to see a doctor.
“Drivers were getting a free six months to a year because o
lockdown but the Government has removed that dispensation now and we all need to get medicals again.
“You are not allowed to drive your vehicle without it so people will be off the road, which could result in huge supply issues.
“I have tried surgeries all over Ayrshire and the response has been the same.”
James also had problems getting his son Adam, 10, an appointment when he feared the 10-year-old might get sepsis following the removal of a skelf.
He said: “The poison was starting to track down his right arm but the GP wouldn’t see him.
“I was told to take photos and email them and the doctor would phone me.”
The doctor prescribed a cream for Adam but James remained concerned.
Because Adam wasn’t seen, his temperature or blood pressure couldn’t be checked to ensure further action wasn’t necessary.
Lawrence Cowan, campaigns
I could paper my walls with the number of concerns about this raised with me JACKIE BAILLIE, LABOUR HEALTH SPOKESWOMAN
Melanoma is a killer, an absolute killer. I’m not out of the woods FIONA WEIR SKIN CANCER SUFFERER
director at charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said: “Covid has caused a domino effect on our health services that is having serious human consequences.
“So many plates are spinning and it is unsustainable. GPs are struggling to cope with the need to protect their staff and patients from the virus, as well as new conditions like Long Covid.
“We need to see action from the Scottish Government in their NHS Recovery Plan and a better integration of charity services and the NHS – which can free up more time for GPs to care for their patients.
“Trained nurses are on our advice line and they can help reduce some of the pressures on GPs. But it’s not easy for them to refer people because the system isn’t integrated.”
However, Dr Chris Williams, joint chairman of RCGP Scotland, insisted: “General practice remains open and providing care to patients who require it.
“We would urge patients to continue to contact their GP surgery if they have medical concerns that they don’t feel they can self-manage or can’t be dealt with by our Community Pharmacy colleagues.
“Throughout the pandemic, general practice has had to operate differently.
Government guidance is that we need to have first contact with patients either by telephone or via video. But when it has been clinically necessary to see patients face to face, we have continued to do so.”
He added that priority had to be given to patients who require medical care and non-medical requests like LGV medical certificates would take longer.
He urged those awaiting LGV medicals to obtain eye examinations from opticians before making an appointment with their GP.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Our NHS has continued to offer care for nonCovid ailments and conditions throughout the pandemic. While some treatments have been paused or postponed, we have been clear that GP practices have always been open and patients needing urgent medical attention shouldn’t hesitate to contact their practice.
“GPs are following best practice advice on infection control and will continue to provide clinical care through video NHS Near Me and telephone consultations where it is safe and appropriate to do so.
“Public Health Scotland are currently reviewing guidance on social distancing and infection control measures in health settings and we expect this to be published in the very near future.”