In the 21st century Britain, G.P. appointment is not available for a month, on the day and next day appointment for urgent cases has vanished and telephone consultation is not possible until after ten days. So, the patient requiring urgent medical advice, ends up in the crippling A & E or `walk in centre`. Even after getting the appointment doctor is in a hurry to meet the target and so can miss serious condition, resulting in the patient visiting doctor repeatedly.
Though, `111` service is very useful, which goes through series of questions to establish the type of help the caller needs, it has been reported to be under stress and lacks co-ordination with G.P. service. To overcome the pressure a pharmacist is allocated at the surgery for restricted time to give advice. There are some good improvements i.e. the nurse at the `walk in centre` refers the patients to x Ray or tests rather than the doctor which cuts down waiting time drastically and the facility of requesting on line repeat prescription, or make an appointment.
However, the medical services looking after the nation’s health is patchy and life threatening due to lack of funds. I am in support of helping human race but when our basic services are in a dire state, giving hefty foreign aid seems utterly unjustified.
Ila Kapadia
By email
