3
Rob Lowe 23 months ago
Commenting on your Physician seems a Darwinian action to take. It should be kept in mind they are prisoners to their authority and some of the issues will be Forth Valley NHS issues rather than just Ochilview.
Having been with my previous practice in Dunfermline (Fife NHS) 30 years and only ever had one problem, I was surprised when I joined Ochilview. We've had issues since day one, and I would be disingenuous if I said I trusted them as much as my old practice. We've had several incidents as a family that called into question competence, in as little as 10 years. On the whole once you learn how to navigate each of the Dr's foibles, and learn that if a letter matters, you'll have to follow it up yourself; the practice is manageable. It has to be, there is no local alternative. At last enquiry they were the only practice with an open book for new patients. Unless you can prove you are an urgent case, first thing in the morning whilst getting kids to school, you'll be waiting at least a week, common everywhere. I was once referred by NHS24 urgently to be seen, by fax, to end up having an argument with the GP over the phone as to why they wouldn't see me. Whilst suffering what turned out to be a serious concussion with a blazing headache and foggy thoughts.
The reception is better than it was, even though I see recent complaints, you should have seen it before! It HAS improved, and so has the provision from diagnosing nurses, etc. The student doctors are in general a god send and personally I'd not avoid them. Some of the best discussions I have had, have been with the students. Reception now do listen to your plight and will on occasion make things happen out-with the process. I'm sure this is frowned upon but it's progress.
The root problem I think is lack of staff, but past that it's poor management. My old practice seemed to flow far more, there was an urgency to a day. They would hand a patient off to the nurse there and then if required, it was common. They would do some testing in house, dip a pee test in front of you, not wait 7 days for a result that you have to chase daily to find out about. The doctors were part of a team inside the practice, not a satellite of some other team.
I'm not entirely convinced the Drs are supported very well. It has the feeling of a small practice busting at the seams, but not actually adjusting it's methods to scale up. It's got stuck rather than scaling. There is a still calm about the place... yet you've just waited a over a week due to lack of capacity! That calm should be industrious hustle. I cannot recall ever visiting my old doctor and finding an empty waiting room. There were always 5-10 people in it. Not Ochilview, you regularly see just one person in there and this is not Covid related.
The regime to get your test results is poor, you have to keep calling them until it happens that the test has come in. You have to do this only between prescribed times of the day. In this day of electronic records, automated SMS systems, e-mail, etc. This is daft. It's not difficult to write a script to send out an SMS when tests are in. There is no way to write an e-mail to a doctor for something that isn't urgent.
It is what it is, and I have heard of some VERY good catches they have made. I remain in longing for my old practice, which I'm sure has changed in current times too, however it felt more secure. I felt safer in their care. That said, I did have to use some GPs in England 10 years ago, and one in particular near Manchester was far worse.