Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The clock ticks to nine o’clock – my first three patients have been seen and the surgery is getting busier.
People are queuing by the reception desk, and now that we have an automatic check-in system some people walk straight through to the overcrowded waiting room – a constant reminder that general practice is overwhelmed by rising patient demand, particularly from an ageing society.
As people are living longer and survival rates for diseases such as cancer are improving, people are living with life-long conditions, and have increasingly complex medical needs.
The standard 10-minute appointment for these patients is simply not enough, and in other European countries consultation times are about 30 minutes. But increasing the time available for all our patients will have yet another severe knock-on effect of more delays in getting an appointment.
http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/...-enough-for-patients-with-complex-conditions/
People are queuing by the reception desk, and now that we have an automatic check-in system some people walk straight through to the overcrowded waiting room – a constant reminder that general practice is overwhelmed by rising patient demand, particularly from an ageing society.
As people are living longer and survival rates for diseases such as cancer are improving, people are living with life-long conditions, and have increasingly complex medical needs.
The standard 10-minute appointment for these patients is simply not enough, and in other European countries consultation times are about 30 minutes. But increasing the time available for all our patients will have yet another severe knock-on effect of more delays in getting an appointment.
http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/...-enough-for-patients-with-complex-conditions/