Scandal of GPs who put cash before patients
It has been reported that family doctors employed at English NHS surgeries that have suspended routine face-to-face appointments are working for private practices where they are happy to see patients in person for cash.
So people now have to choose between buying a smartphone and learning to be internet-savvy in order to get an online consultation, or paying £49 or more to see a doctor face-to-face.
It seems the UK is not a place to be elderly and sick.
Roy Daniels, Luton
It is disgusting that some family doctors are only willing to see patients face-to-face if they pay for this privilege. Whatever happened to the NHS heroes?
Tim Mickleburgh, Grimsby
Dr Ellie Cannon commented last week on how technology has changed GP consultations during lockdown and, like her, I am delighted surgeries have moved into the 21st Century. I have had telephone consultations several times in the past few months and can see they will be of great help to the NHS in the future.
However, I have recently lost a close friend, whose death I believe could have been delayed, if not avoided, by a traditional face-toface consultation. My friend, who suffered from a serious chronic health condition, was living in a flat with no garden and was becoming depressed. He was fiercely independent and only called on one trusted close relative for help. When she became concerned, she informed his GP. The GP rang and spoke to my friend. Two days later my friend was admitted to hospital and died within the week. If the GP had seen my friend in person, I believe they would have realised he was not coping.
You cannot assess whether someone is coping without seeing them and how they are living.
Liz Brunwin, Suffolk
So Ellie Cannon is delighted she no longer has to do her job and see patients face-to-face? What happens to the hundreds of people who do not have computers and cannot afford one? I developed a severe allergy during lockdown. My GP refused to see me three times and I had a phone consultation. I was then forced to send photos. I attended hospital, where I saw a caring dermatologist face-to-face. I was even given a follow-up face-to-face appointment. If hospitals are open, why have GPs’ doors been locked, with them taking large salaries from the taxpayer while doing less?
M. Dobson, Stockport
I am sick to the back teeth of being told GP surgeries are operating well. I require regular blood tests and periodic B12 injections, but every attempt is met with the response that such treatment is not urgent, so is not being carried out at the moment.
As a 66-year-old single woman in uncertain health who values the personalised services provided by GP surgeries, I can only despair.
Lynda Firth, Skipton