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Are local GP surgeries planning to shut down?

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D

Davein

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Call me a scaremonger if you wish but my partner was told by the cancer care unit at the county hospital to book a blood test at her GP surgery prior to her beginning her second cycle of chemotherapy. A specific date was given as the results of this test determines the correct doses of the two treatments of chemotherapy. The standard procedure at the surgery is to book appointments a week or two in advance, indeed if you expected a blood test appointment on the day you phone up you would be heading for a disappointment.
She initially made a request online as required and was duly contacted by phone by the surgery. She was told she must phone up on the actual day (regardless of the importance of this test or the circumstances) I must admit the conversation started to get a bit heated, my partner understandably anxious due to her circumstances. The lady from the surgery then stated they may be shut down by that date. This test date is within the next two weeks. The staff are normally extremely obliging and helpful, a complete reversal of how they are acting now.
Given that we are approaching a critical stage of the pandemic, common sense tells me that if they are urgently recruiting ex NHS workers on such a vast scale then 100% of the current NHS human resources from GPs to healthcare workers will be diverted to Coronavirus cases. I therefore conclude that surgeries will be shut for all other ailments. We have been encouraged to make more use of pharmacists to relieve the pressures on GPs and hospitals over the past few years. If surgeries close I can foresee that pharmacies will close overnight (ours are already on much reduced hours) to avoid being overwhelmed.
During the trips I have made to the main county hospital there has been an increasing uplift in security. Two weeks ago we could walk virtually anywhere in the main complex but on Wednesday security guards on all external doors and entry to units which you could previously walk into are now locked down. The nightmare will be when coronavirus overwhelms these hospitals and NO other emergencies or ailments can be dealt with.
Call me an idiot scaremonger if you wish but I strongly suggest you make sure you have enough meds for the weeks ahead and whilst on lockdown do not attempt tasks such as DIY that could involve you being injured because the likelihood of getting treatment quickly is rapidly diminishing on a daily basis
I truly hope I will have to eat my words but I fear this will happen.
 
Davein said:
Call me a scaremonger if you wish but my partner was told by the cancer care unit at the county hospital to book a blood test at her GP surgery prior to her beginning her second cycle of chemotherapy. A specific date was given as the results of this test determines the correct doses of the two treatments of chemotherapy. The standard procedure at the surgery is to book appointments a week or two in advance, indeed if you expected a blood test appointment on the day you phone up you would be heading for a disappointment.
She initially made a request online as required and was duly contacted by phone by the surgery. She was told she must phone up on the actual day (regardless of the importance of this test or the circumstances) I must admit the conversation started to get a bit heated, my partner understandably anxious due to her circumstances. The lady from the surgery then stated they may be shut down by that date. This test date is within the next two weeks. The staff are normally extremely obliging and helpful, a complete reversal of how they are acting now.
Given that we are approaching a critical stage of the pandemic, common sense tells me that if they are urgently recruiting ex NHS workers on such a vast scale then 100% of the current NHS human resources from GPs to healthcare workers will be diverted to Coronavirus cases. I therefore conclude that surgeries will be shut for all other ailments. We have been encouraged to make more use of pharmacists to relieve the pressures on GPs and hospitals over the past few years. If surgeries close I can foresee that pharmacies will close overnight (ours are already on much reduced hours) to avoid being overwhelmed.
During the trips I have made to the main county hospital there has been an increasing uplift in security. Two weeks ago we could walk virtually anywhere in the main complex but on Wednesday security guards on all external doors and entry to units which you could previously walk into are now locked down. The nightmare will be when coronavirus overwhelms these hospitals and NO other emergencies or ailments can be dealt with.
Call me an idiot scaremonger if you wish but I strongly suggest you make sure you have enough meds for the weeks ahead and whilst on lockdown do not attempt tasks such as DIY that could involve you being injured because the likelihood of getting treatment quickly is rapidly diminishing on a daily basis
I truly hope I will have to eat my words but I fear this will happen.
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I don't think that is fear mongering. It's just how it is at the moment and has been for some time with regards to getting blood tests and gp appointments. I also strongly agree with your experience of how attitudes of gp's and their staff have radically changed in recent days. I agree that if anyone is taking medication they would be well advised to make sure they do have sufficient stock should all medical staff be diverted into treating covid 19. If it all comes to nothing then you've got a few weeks extra medication in hand and can miss a later prescription request if needs be.
 
Both my local GP surgeries are closing. This is an area where there is a single practice with seven surgeries extending over about 15 miles, five of which are closing due to staff illness and/or need for self-isolation. I have been directed for prescriptions to the nearest town, five miles away, where one of two surgeries is still open. Prescriptions must now be ordered seven days in advance. As they are to be collected in a building that is not conducive to social distancing, and in view of the number of patients involved, I am not looking forward to it. I imagine this is fairly normal now.
 
I've just checked my surgery's website and there is nothing at present to say they're closing, although there's the stuff about not visiting and ringing 111 if symptoms develop. My annual blood test & review are due at the end of May so I wonder what they might do about that? Normally I get a bus to the hospital for the blood test.

I'm not on D medication but I do have other pills and fortunately I have plenty, although Mr Marten needs his repeat prescription done next week. Our kind leaseholders downstairs are young and have offered to help out if we need anything, which is kind of them - especially since they're now out of a job since the record shop they run has closed :(
 
I think the health service is under enormous pressure at the moment, and the pandemic is necessarily changing the what they have to operate in order to keep both patients and staff safe, but I don’t believe that it would be possible, practical or workable to shut surgeries down and only focus on the virus.

I know that when Jane was in palliative care for her cancer there was simply no way we could have managed without a functioning GP practice to ensure the flow of meds.

I will raise this with Diabetes UK to see if I can get everyone some reassurance.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
but I don’t believe that it would be possible, practical or workable to shut surgeries down and only focus on the virus.
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I can imagine situations where it's not practical for a surgery to continue running, but I'd hope there'd be arrangements for another surgery to handle things while that's the case. (Though that might cause a cascade of problems as it puts more stress on other surgeries. It's known the UK doesn't have enough GPs to begin with, after all.)
 
Pine Marten said:
I've just checked my surgery's website and there is nothing at present to say they're closing, although there's the stuff about not visiting and ringing 111 if symptoms develop. My annual blood test & review are due at the end of May so I wonder what they might do about that? Normally I get a bus to the hospital for the blood test.

I'm not on D medication but I do have other pills and fortunately I have plenty, although Mr Marten needs his repeat prescription done next week. Our kind leaseholders downstairs are young and have offered to help out if we need anything, which is kind of them - especially since they're now out of a job since the record shop they run has closed :(
Click to expand...
I had a text from mine on Monday, they are closed to people turning up at the Surgery. To contact the surgery by phone or online. Telephone consultations will done, if you need to go to the Surgery, then you will be given instructions to gain access.
Repeat prescriptions are ordered online sent online to Pharamacy. I did notice when I checked last week, I can now order my next one at 3 weeks instead of normal. 4 weeks.
 
The surgery in the village is closed, even for phone calls and prescription requests. Those services are moving to Clitheroe Health Centre. So that’s where my prescriptions will be created, a couple of miles away. Might as well be a hundred miles. At the moment I don’t need anything, but apparently they are creating a list of those who need delivery. We’ll see, I suppose.
 
I’ve heard back from Diabetes UK who are not aware of any plans or intention to close all GP surgeries altogether.

Some individual surgeries may have particular challenges with staff shortages, and many are needing to change the way they work, delaying some routine appointments and checks (eg diabetes annual reviews), and doing most things by phone, only booking face-to-face appointments where necessary.

I‘m sorry you had that experience @Davein and that the booking of the appointment is so much harder.

Hooe you manage to get it sorted, and that the chemo can go ahead as planned.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I’ve heard back from Diabetes UK who are not aware of any plans or intention to close all GP surgeries altogether.

Some individual surgeries may have particular challenges with staff shortages, and many are needing to change the way they work, delaying some routine appointments and checks (eg diabetes annual reviews), and doing most things by phone, only booking face-to-face appointments where necessary.

I‘m sorry you had that experience @Davein and that the booking of the appointment is so much harder.

Hooe you manage to get it sorted, and that the chemo can go ahead as planned.
Click to expand...
Thanks Alan
The county Air Ambulance announced this morning that they are reducing flying time and will no longer carry critical care doctors who will now return to their duties at local hospitals. Our county has recorded a total of 8 deaths and the hospital CEO stated she was resting front line medics ready for the anticipated deluge in the forthcoming weeks.
We received a phone call this morning from a senior member of staff from the surgery stating if we called to book an appointment on the required day they would ensure that there would be someone there to perform the blood test. So they have backtracked somewhat, thank goodness- saves us an 80 mile round trip to the RC Hospital during lockdown.
Just to add to all the sadness in our lives at the moment, it is my younger brother's funeral today and I cannot attend for obvious reasons.
On the positive side, I should be getting my meds delivered on Monday by pharmacist after long wait.
 
I meant to add that my surgery is part of a flash new 'supersurgery' with three local surgeries grouped in one building with a Day Lewis Pharmacy onsite.
If it does close it will put enormous pressure on the hospitals.
 
My surgery is working with 2 other local surgeries, so am thinking they will provide a service between them,
My sister in law is a medical secretary - she said the surgeries in her geographical area are working together and there will be a "red surgery", which will deal with potential covid. Other surgeries which have 2 branches are closing 1 branch.
Gp's will continue to provide a service I believe, but all routine work will no doubt be suspended,
 
Our surgery announced last week that if we need medical help (exc COVID), to ri.ng and a message would be taken, then these would be passed to a doc or nurse who would ring and triage you, if you needed to be seen you'd be told what to do and when to arrive. That hasn't been changed, except now there will only be one Dr per day on actual face to face duty.

I have no idea whatever, what they are planning for folk who need blood tests eg me for a diabetes clinic (though I'm confident that won't happen) or OH to check that his Prostate Cancer is still fast asleep - I mean I know whereabouts my HbA1c is going to be, so I'm not desperate but he obviously doesn't know what his PSA is up to.
 
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