Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘We’re not hiding behind desks’
Local GPS insist they are not “hiding behind desks” amid concerns over a drop in the number of face-to-face appointments.
Before the Covid pandemic struck almost 70% of consultations were in-person - but this has now fallen to below 40%.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of readers taking part in an online poll this week said they would prefer to visit their doctor than discuss medical issues over the phone or online.
But GPS across Canterbury and Faversham say virtual appointments are here to stay.
They point to NHS guidance stating “patients and clinicians have a choice of consultation mode”, and stress that many residents still concerned about Covid prefer to talk virtually.
Dr Jeremy Carter, of Park Surgery in Herne Bay, said: “We’re
not doing it because we want an easy life.
“We come to work and run practices with a view to providing good care and helping our patients; we don’t come to hide behind a desk.
“If we were running face-toface appointments for everyone, we would have a waiting room that’s very, very full.
“We don’t think it’s appropriate to have a cancer patient sat
next to somebody who might have Covid.
“What we’ve found from before Covid, and even now, is some people like having a remote consultation and find it convenient. There are many things you don’t need to see a doctor for.
“We’ve got a government who are now criticising us for not doing face-to-face, who are also mandating that we do remote.”
NHS data reveals in-person appointments with GPS in Kent and Medway have slipped from almost 69% before the coronavirus outbreak to 38.8% in June.
The pandemic saw the proportion of face-to-face consultations drop as low as 23% last year, as slots were filled with greater regularity by appointments over the phone, video or online.
Whitstable Medical Practice boss Dr John Ribchester says about half of the examinations in the town are now undertaken in-person, but that he hopes to get the figure back up to pre-pandemic levels.
“There are things you can’t do remotely – if you’re not actually seeing them, you don’t have the opportunity to listen to their chests or feel their abdomen or do breath tests, etc,” he explained.
“The return to pre-covid levels of face-to-face is a bit slowed down partly because of people’s reluctance to come in to see their doctor and partly because clinicians have seen there are efficiencies to remote consultations.
“People need to be encouraged to see their GP, if they need to, because the last thing they’d want to do is miss anything.”
Despite there being a gradual rise in face-to-face appointments in recent months, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPS last week “GPS should be offering face-to-face access” as “life is starting to return almost back to completely normal”.
A spokesperson for Boris Johnson also said this week that “the NHS has been very clear to every practice that they must provide face-to-face appointments, and we fully support that”.
Faversham GP Dr Gaurav Gupta, who also chairs the Kent Local Medical Committee, says a “balanced mix of remote consultations and face-to-face examination is the best approach”.
“This was being done before the pandemic and will continue in future,” he said.
“If a patient has a remote consultation with their GP but a face to face consultation is more appropriate then the practice will arrange for this to take place.
“General practice is under immense pressure, with decreasing GP numbers at the same time as the number of appointments going up.
“Most GPS are working far beyond the recommended safe limits of 25 patient appointments
in a day.
“We need urgent action from government to ease these pressures.”
Dr Gupta also believes “a vicious campaign from certain sections of the media” has prompted a spike in abuse against practice staff.
He says he and his colleagues are regularly hearing reports of verbal and physical attacks on staff.
“We are still in a global pandemic with high infection rates
and trying to reduce spread to vulnerable patients, as encouraged by government guidance on remote consultation,” Dr Gupta added.
“As we start delivering flu and covid booster vaccinations we would need to continue keeping waiting rooms safe for everyone.”
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