Our Doctors surgeries are worthless!

As much as it pains me to say this but the local Doctors surgery, and all that are employed within them are not worth the money they are paid to provide a service that has stretched as far back as the birth of the NHS.

I recently had to contact my local Doctors surgery, suffering from what I suspected was a chest infection, only to be told that the reception have the authority to grant an appointment with the Doctor once they know what your symptoms are, I'm sorry but these people are receptionist, they have no medical background or any kind of MD certificate hanging on the office wall.

I was suffering with pain and finding it difficult to breath, I could also feel that a high temperature was forming within my body and yet I was told that the earliest the Doctor would be able to see me would be next Thursday, I made the call on the Monday afternoon, after I woke from my sleep, sweating, in pain, coughing and shaking so violently that my joints were hurting, this would mean that I would have to wait 10 days to see the Doctor.

I was told by the front desk that the out of hours Doctor would be my best option, so I called the out of hours Doc, they oversee all the appointments within my area, nothing available until the following week, this was getting ridiculous, I called my firm to inform them that I would not be coming in that night, my boss totally understood and suggested that I go straight to A&E.

Now, I'm not one for hospitals, the last time I went to my local hospital was just before the pandemic outbreak, I again was suffering with chest pains, sweating, fever, high temperature, shortness of breath and still they could not find out what was wrong with me, later, the following year, COVID 19 and lockdown was implemented, so this time felt a lot different. My wife dropped me at the entrance to A&E, I walked to reception and looked around the crowded waiting room, it was a huge room, plenty of seats, all taken by people awaiting their name to be called, I was asked to complete an initial sign in form and then to take a seat in the waiting room.

I found a seat and waited for my name to be called, after about an hour my name was called, I was seen by a nurse, she took my temperature, my pulse, gave me 2 ibuprofen tablets, whilst typing what I was explaining about how I was feeling, I was then told to go back in the waiting area and a Doctor would see me shortly, 3 more hours passed and my name was called again, this time by the Doctor, once again I told him about my symptoms, he listened to my chest and informed me that I had quite a nasty chest infection, he filled out a prescription for powerful antibiotics and told me to start taking them as soon as I got the pills, I thanked the Doctor and called my wife to come pick me up, I got the pills that evening and went home to bed.

Now since the pandemic the local surgeries have become nearly impossible to get any kind of urgent appointment, the junior Doctors are once again threating strike action, why not flood the surgeries with junior Doctors and give them the same pay as the local Doctor gets, because I'm damn sure they will be worth the money they are paid and the time waiting would come down as a result.

My local surgery is an absolute joke, the reception staff think they are above everyone and they talk to you with no respect or regard to way you feel, there is a sign to say that there is zero tolerance for behaviour towards the medical staff, what about their attitude towards the patient of which there is zero patience, some things have to change, and pretty soon, as sooner or later someone will just lose it in the waiting room and the Police will have to be called to sort out the situation.

At the end of the day COVID is just another virus, yes a pretty nasty one but while I was at the hospital not one person asked if I had taken a COVID self test, it's as if the virus never existed, however the Doctors within the local surgeries still feel threatened by the virus and this is why it takes so long to get an appointment or to actually see a Doctor because they are using the virus as an excuse, let's get the junior Doctors in there, they just might make a difference to the whole NHS problem and giving them the pay they deserve will definitely make a huge difference, because the local GP is not worth the money they are paid.