Staff crisis forces GP to consult via email
A GP has been forced to start treating thousands of her patients by email.
Dr Sue Arnott’s practice is so short-staffed she was left with a stark choice of either dealing with patients remotely or closing her surgery.
It’s the latest example of Scotland’s health workforce crisis, which has seen growing numbers of patients turned away by inundated surgeries.
Dr Arnott has 5,000 people on her roll at Burnbrae Medical Practice in Shotts, Lanarkshire.
That is three times the national average, but two of her GP partners have retired and she has been unable to fill the vacancies.
So she now triages 70 per cent of her patients’ problems by online message, then decides whether to offer them a consultation, appointment with a nurse, advice or a repeat prescription.
Dr Arnott, 8, said: ‘After eight months of not getting any suitable applicants, I realised that we had to take on board online consultations. The alternative was to close the practice. ‘The [patients who send emails] are all ages and the eldest is 81.
‘This is how your family doctor could evolve. If someone needs an appointment that day, they can get it. Patients can still phone for appointments.’
But the British Medical Association warned doctors should not conduct so much patient interaction by email.
Dr Andrew Buist, chairman of the body’s Scottish GP committee, said: ‘Online consultations suit some patients who have busy working lives and can’t spare the time to attend surgeries.
‘However, online GPs could be distancing their patients and I think a ten to 15 per cent online consultation rate would be ideal.’
One in four Scottish surgeries is struggling to recruit staff. More than 500 GPs have retired in the last decade and more than a third of those left are set to follow suit by 2023.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We aim to increase the number of GPs by at least 800 over ten years to ensure a sustainable service that meets increasing demand.’
‘Alternative was to close the practice’