'If I die, it's your fault' - Patients are desperate to see their GP

Andrew Picain and Lewis Hosi

BBC News Scotland

Practice manager in GP Surgery Heather Sharki says that some patients are taking their disappointment about delay in appointment on front line staff.

The BBC Heather Sharki, who has short hair, looks directly on the camera, wearing black remade and red lipstick. — Practice manager in GP Surgery Heather Sharki says that some patients are taking their disappointment about delay in appointment on front line staff.

GP surgery employees have warned that they raise the brunt of the growing patient frustration when they delayed trying to get an appointment with a doctor.

The GPS of Scotland claims that the £ 290M funding gap means they cannot take the risk of hiring more employees to deal with increasing demand.

Workers of a medical practice in Aberdeen say that they are fast “trying to do more with” less “, waiting for people to see for a long time.

GP surgery is spent more than £ 1bn of NHS Scotland budget and Scottish ministers have said that they want to make people easy to see a doctor.

First minister John Swine has previously pledged Make GP Appointment Easy,

A large proportion of new NHS funding is now going for primary and community care.

But the British Medical Association (BMA) is Scotland A formal dispute with Scottish ministers raisedClaiming the GPS stake in the healthcare budget, since 2008, it has fallen against inflation every year.

The trade union is also not being met by GP recruitment goals, indicating high vacancy rates and a growing charge for doctors.

‘We cannot see every person we want’

The phones in Elmbank GP Surgery in Aberdeen are not silent for a long time, where the current waiting time for a regular face-to-face appointment is more than four weeks.

Practice manager Heather Sharki said that the size of the surgery list has increased by 6% compared to the previous year and “they are fire -fighting every day to do the best every day we can do”.

He said: “We cannot see everyone that we want to see.

“I would like to be able to hire more doctors. There are doctors in Scotland who cannot get a job. But I do not have funding to be able to do so.”

He said: “It then turns into a disappointment for the office staff who are dealing with the issue of supply and demand, and are patients who are sensible, disappointed, worried and sick and just want to see their doctor.

“From incredibly understanding to ‘if I die, it is your fault.”

Patient Margaret Junner says that she often calls her GP surgery but cannot be found through it.

Margaret junar, a big woman with short brown hair and glasses, wearing a dark colored cardigan, looks at the camera. — Patient Margaret Junner says that she often calls her GP surgery but cannot be found through it.

Almbank patient Margaret Junner said it was a disappointing process to try to get GP appointment.

He said: “You think I am a human, I have got feelings, I am around the neck.

“And after a wee when you just give up.

“You are probably waiting for two or three weeks before receiving a phone call and if you are in pain, or you are unhealthy, you are trying your best to make sure that you are watching.”

GP Partner of LBK of Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, Dr. Chris Privan said: “I am very clear that we do not have enough GPS. We are always struggling to fit patients – we are not able to provide and service we want.

“I have seen the intensity of GP’s job growing and increasing so that the patients are suffering, and GP is burning outside.

“Many people are leaving the profession due to the intensity of their charge or retiring quickly – which contributes to the fact that we do not have enough GP.”

Why doesn’t Scotland not have enough GPS?

Nearly a decade ago, the Scottish government unveiled a plan to allow family doctors to spend more time with patients and cut their overall charge.

This strategy was the central plank Number of GPS in Scotland increased to minimal 800 by 2027,

Earlier this year, Watchdog audit Scotland said This plan failed to give And the target of 2027 is unlikely to hit.

A headcon of all GPS undergoing a three -year training program shows a jump from a total of 4,904 in September 2017, which is from 5,211 the same month last year.

However, the audit Scotland has stated that this is how the GP does not exhibit the desired increase in capacity “.

Another remedy for GPS count – which shows the fact that many of them are included in part -time – are called the equivalent (WTE) throughout the time.

The estimated WTE for GPS in September 2017 was 3,520 and fell to 3,453 in March this year.

Trade unions said that this reflects the fact that many GPs have reduced their hours and enough trainees are not being hired to replace retiring GPS.

Last week, Health Secretary Neil Gray announced £ 15M to promote GP recruitment and capacity.

Gray reported that the prize of over £ 100m came to the last two years to meet the recommended increment and support medical practices with stability.

He said: “We want to make it easy for people to see their GP and to achieve this we are working towards ensuring a large part of the new NHS funding that goes for primary and community care.

“This will help support the new funding capacity and ensure that GPS and services in the community have the necessary resources for their necessary roles in our health system.”

He said: “We are in conversation with the region on the provision of further support in future, but this initial installment shows this government’s commitment to support primary care and reduce the current pressures on the system.”