GP warns: Tell us if something is wrong
ABURSCOUGH GP fears that serious health conditions, including strokes and cancer, are going unchecked because patients fear they are wasting doctors’ time.
Dr Jennifer Graham urged that patients must still contact their GPs if they had health concerns, despite the coronavirus outbreak causing major changes to the way the health service normally operates.
While routine appointments are no longer being carried out face to face, phone services are still available and many clinics are still running for urgent appointments.
Dr Graham, who works at Stanley Court Surgery, said that doctors were concerned the number of deaths associated with people scared to conmtact their GP could be similar to the number of Covid-19 fatalities.
She said: “The worry of most GPs at the moment isn’t Covid-19, as we are well set up now for triaging and seeing those with relevant symptoms in our local ‘hot hubs’. Our hospital colleagues are doing an amazing job at the frontline.
“Our worry is that we are not seeing the breast lumps, postnatal depression, pelvic pain, abnormal bleeding, ministrokes, rectal bleeding, neck lumps, swallowing difficulties, suspicious weight loss, moles that are changing shape, palpitations, chest pain suspicious for angina, abdominal pain suspicious for appendicitis and more.
“They must be still happening, but people are staying at home ‘not wanting to bother us’.
“We know the paediatric community is desperately worried about sick kids not being taken to hospital because their parents are understandably scared.”
Dr Graham has urged people to contact their local GP if they have worries about their health.
She added: “We are getting really concerned that the morbidity and mortality of those who are scared to go to the GP might be almost as big as those who die of Covid-19 itself.”