GP services on thin ice

[WasThatWise]

Currently in the news is the pressure on GP services approaching breaking point yet myself and my son have recently received letters to make an appointment to see presumably a doctor for two different reasons, mine to review my current medication which is just statins one of the most common medicines prescribed and which it seems you are on for life once started and my sons because he hasn't been to the doctors or had any prescriptions for over a year because he hasn't been ill.

 

Both seem to be a waste of everybody's time so if you can't get an appointment in a reasonable time maybe it's because they are wasting so much time on unnecessary rubbish like this.

[El Cid]

Currently in the news is the pressure on GP services approaching breaking point yet myself and my son have recently received letters to make an appointment to see presumably a doctor for two different reasons, mine to review my current medication which is just statins one of the most common medicines prescribed and which it seems you are on for life once started and my sons because he hasn't been to the doctors or had any prescriptions for over a year because he hasn't been ill.

 

Both seem to be a waste of everybody's time so if you can't get an appointment in a reasonable time maybe it's because they are wasting so much time on unnecessary rubbish like this.

 

Evidence from the drug industry published this month – evidence I suspect was heavily reliant on data from the drug industry, may suggest that side effects are uncommon, but previous studies have found that one in five people on statins suffers adverse side effects, from muscle pain and diarrhoea to memory loss and blurred vision.

 

Maybe they are over-worked because they prescribe pill after pill, that doesnt cure the cause of the problem?

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/10717431/Why-Ive-ditched-statins-for-good.html

[Anna B]

I wouldn't call keeping an eye on someone who takes a powerful drug 'unnecessary rubbish.'

 

Drugs and their side effects can cause other problems - with the kidneys for example.

 

As for your healthy son, could it be that the doctors are checking through their lists to see who has died or who they can turf off to give them more space?

 

The pressure on GP services isn't evenly spread across the country. Some places will be managing quite well while others are in severe difficulties, depending on budgets and their particular demographics.

[macmellus]

Evidence from the drug industry published this month – evidence I suspect was heavily reliant on data from the drug industry, may suggest that side effects are uncommon, but previous studies have found that one in five people on statins suffers adverse side effects, from muscle pain and diarrhoea to memory loss and blurred vision.

 

Maybe they are over-worked because they prescribe pill after pill, that doesnt cure the cause of the problem?

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/10717431/Why-Ive-ditched-statins-for-good.html

 

But surely, you can't expect people to face their problems, not in this day and age. And how would the industry make it's money if they did?

[Bob Arctor]

I wouldn't call keeping an eye on someone who takes a powerful drug 'unnecessary rubbish.'

 

Drugs and their side effects can cause other problems - with the kidneys for example.

 

As for your healthy son, could it be that the doctors are checking through their lists to see who has died or who they can turf off to give them more space?

 

The pressure on GP services isn't evenly spread across the country. Some places will be managing quite well while others are in severe difficulties, depending on budgets and their particular demographics.

 

Just as likely that a health economist has worked out that it's cheaper to periodically check people who haven't been to the doctor for a while to pick up any problems early than to treat them when they finally accept something is wrong - particularly men, and particularly men in areas like South Yorkshire who like to tough it out.