Health secretary wants 'loads of companies' to follow GP at Hand's example

[Northerner]

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock has said he wants 'loads of companies' to follow in the footsteps of the private provider behind the controversial GP at Hand service.

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock
Speaking at the headquarters of Babylon - the company whose technology and London clinics have allowed GP at Hand to attract thousands of predominantly young NHS patients - Mr Hancock also said he wanted to change NHS rules so that services like GP at Hand can be better accommodated.

His comments on Thursday night followed earlier comments in which the health secretary - himself a patient registered with the video consultation service - said he wanted GP at Hand to be 'available to all, not based on their postcode’.

https://www.gponline.com/health-sec...anies-follow-gp-hands-example/article/1492843

(free registration required to view)

 

[mikeyB]

Well, I suppose it’s a good thing on paper, reducing the load on NHS GPs, but it’s not a good thing for patients.

It puts a vast hole in the litany I was taught - history, examination, diagnosis.

GPs, of course, will have to pick up the pieces.

All this shows a complete ignorance of how doctors work, but that’s no great surprise in this government.

 

[Amigo]

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock has said he wants 'loads of companies' to follow in the footsteps of the private provider behind the controversial GP at Hand service.

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock
Speaking at the headquarters of Babylon - the company whose technology and London clinics have allowed GP at Hand to attract thousands of predominantly young NHS patients - Mr Hancock also said he wanted to change NHS rules so that services like GP at Hand can be better accommodated.

His comments on Thursday night followed earlier comments in which the health secretary - himself a patient registered with the video consultation service - said he wanted GP at Hand to be 'available to all, not based on their postcode’.

https://www.gponline.com/health-sec...anies-follow-gp-hands-example/article/1492843

(free registration required to view)

It was only a matter of time before our smartphones and tablets became our physicians I suppose.

I’m all for any initiative that takes pressure off the beleaguered GP service but this service is apparently very selective about whom it treats. It may not be suitable (meaning doesn’t want to know), patients with complex mental health problems or complex physical, psychological or social needs. It doesn’t want to know if you’re pregnant or older and frail or have dementia or learning difficulties or safeguarding issues. This new service is cherry-picking its target population. You need to be relatively young with something fairly routine for this sanitised off shoot service. Leave the hard core intractable cases to doctors who actually see patients face to face!!

If I rang them, I’d get the response, ‘the computer says NO’ 🙄