Fury at GP health checks by PHONE as patients told they will no longer be able to see their village GP
They will first speak to a receptionist who will question them about their problems before arranging for a doctor to ring them
PATIENTS have been told they can no longer see a village GP — and must now call the health centre to be diagnosed over the phone.
They will first speak to a receptionist who will question them about their problems before arranging for a doctor to call them back if appropriate.
Patients will be asked to attend surgery only if the GP thinks the problem is serious enough.
The system is due to start on Monday at Kennington Health Centre in Oxfordshire.
But patients fear it will risk lives. Michael Wheble, 67, said: “It’s a disgrace.
“They are never going to be able to diagnose what’s wrong over the phone.
“People will panic and go to A&E, which is already overrun. It’s going to cause deaths. I’ve never heard of anything like it.”
The surgery has around 6,700 patients but that is set to increase in the years ahead as hundreds of new houses are to be built in the area.
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Jess Blackwell, 26, said: “It’s not ideal. It’s overstretched now and will be even more so when there are 500 extra houses.”
Dr Richard Erin, a GP there for 20 years, said: “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.
“We’re just trying to do something that may improve access at a time of relative crisis in the NHS and for us.
“We’ve got a very difficult practice, with some elderly, very sick patients. We haven’t got enough doctors and we can’t find doctors to join us.
“On that basis we’ve got to try and do something a bit differently to make sure we can meet the needs of our patients.”
Joyce Robins, of Patient Concern, said some may find being quizzed by receptionists “intrusive”.
But she said it is necessary to “filter out the time-wasters that only have a sniffle or fancy a chat”.