GPs still failing in their duty of care

It’s becoming more obvious that for the elderly and disabled, the current trend for GP appointments over phone or video calls just does not work. Conditions can be missed if a doctor is not physically present.

My husband suffers with MS and is housebound, but the only way to get a doctor to visit is to call 111 rather than ring our surgery directly.

My husband was clearly unwell the other day so I dialled 111 and requested a doctor come to the house. The doctor decided to call my husband, diagnosed him with a urine infection and sent him antibiotics to get rid of it.

After a while, he started to become even more unwell so I called 111 again, pleading with them to send a doctor round.

Eventually one did visit and carried out some observations. It turned out my husband didn’t have a urine infection at all and it was something else causing the illness. An ambulance was called and my husband has now been in hospital for more than a week.

Don’t doctors have a duty of care? If in the first instance a doctor had visited my husband, they would have physically seen how unwell he was.

Come on, doctors. Step up to the mark.

Mo Kirchin, Hitchin