Northern GP crisis

[Last Man]

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6S16LR0Ypxu8Xgf8tp0Um3?si=Z40miR9sQGCQN9jmHNnduw
Forgot the link

[grounded]

I see another GP surgery in the north has handed in its contract. It will close unless a replacement GP can be found. That brings the total number of surgeries to at least 6 by my count in the last few months (Flax, Glen road, 2 in Ballymena, Trillick, Shantallow, there may be more im forgetting), with tens of thousands of people affected. This will then of course have a knock on effect for the surrounding surgeries who will have to take on these patients, compounding their own problems and stretching their resources.

My understanding is that its not a nice environment to work in. Growing waiting lists in the hospitals has led to people being managed by their GPs for years when they really should be under a consultant. This leads to a huge workload for the surgery and less time to deal with the day to day traditional GP stuff, leading to people being frustrated/angry and GPs getting fed up.

I cant remember the exact stat but a large percentage of GPs are over the age of 55. More and more young doctors choose to go into hospital instead. This is a ticking time bomb as GPs tend to retire before 65.
What do people think is the solution to this crisis? Do we have a recruitment problem?

Pretty good article here describing the challenges facing the nhs in recruiting gp's. This was written before Covid19 so the problems are now much worse!
     
https://lowdownnhs.info/explainers/why-cant-you-get-a-gp-appointment/#:~:text=The%20fall%20in%20the%20number%20of%20GPs%20in,the%20number%20of%20GPs%20choosing%20to%20work%20part-time.

A few other factors that are not contained in the article that may have some relevancy.
         I think also most young doctors see their profession solely as a job and less as a vocation. This vocationary element has definitely changed over time and the idea of staying to work as a gp in your own community is not a very attractive one, when you can travel to Austrailia/New Zealand or practice in the private sector.
          Newly qualified doctors leaving college, for the most part in massive debt. They are nearly always going to go for the position with the highest salary and the best work/life balance and who can blame them?
       One other element that might be at play is the proportion of female to male doctors qualifying.  Traditionally it was a very male dominated but this has been reversed( thankfully) but there may be implications( without greatly increasing the total number of graduates) for patients. This was one side of the debate.
            https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2287266/
       
Complex debate, but inevitably the slide towards the private care and a much reduced NHS is well underway. The Conservatives are overjoyed.
       

[Twobounces]

My problem with the health service here is that we all know it's failing and failing badly but we do nothing about it. Reports are commissioned that recommend that changes be made, like closing certain hospitals. All parties agree but once push comes to shove they won't do it. They hope that London makes the hard choices for them so they can, sit back and be like we opposed that.

Another issue is a hospital like Dungannon should be used as a surgical hub as fairly central to the North and okay roads to it. The issue occurs when they try to do this is that some auld doll from Belfast goes onto the Nolan show or something else and is like oh I'm not fit to go to Dungannon for the operation causing a massive storm in a teacup.

Looks to me like a system like the South with private health insurance may be the only way out of this.

[RedHand88]

My problem with the health service here is that we all know it's failing and failing badly but we do nothing about it. Reports are commissioned that recommend that changes be made, like closing certain hospitals. All parties agree but once push comes to shove they won't do it. They hope that London makes the hard choices for them so they can, sit back and be like we opposed that.

Another issue is a hospital like Dungannon should be used as a surgical hub as fairly central to the North and okay roads to it. The issue occurs when they try to do this is that some auld doll from Belfast goes onto the Nolan show or something else and is like oh I'm not fit to go to Dungannon for the operation causing a massive storm in a teacup.

Looks to me like a system like the South with private health insurance may be the only way out of this.

This made me laugh because ive heard someone from Belfast complain about being sent to Dungannon for an ENT consultation. They were horrified at the prospect.

[Rossfan]

I see 47% of us in the 26 now have Health Insurance.
C33% have Medical Cards and around 10% have GP visit cards

[Armagh18]

https://www.joe.ie/news/junior-doctor-sleep-761117

[Sportacus]

Just another symptom of the shambles that is the parties at Stormont.  A bunch of amateurs mostly incapable and sometimes afraid to make hard decisions. Health professionals have warned for years that we were heading straight for the cliffs, and here we are.

[Tony Baloney]

MR2 hit on it earlier - people here smoke, eat and drink too much and expect the healthcare system to step in and look after them free of charge. Lifestyle illnesses are costing billions each year. If there was a charge at point of use people might look after themselves a bit better. The number of obese people on the streets is wild.

[Last Man]

MR2 hit on it earlier - people here smoke, eat and drink too much and expect the healthcare system to step in and look after them free of charge. Lifestyle illnesses are costing billions each year. If there was a charge at point of use people might look after themselves a bit better. The number of obese people on the streets is wild.

That isn't a problem restricted to Nordieland though, it's the case in pretty much the whole of the developed world and even in parts of the developing world.

Thats what they say, it's all our fault yet the big food corporations employ scientists to make their crap hyperpalitable, moreish, addictable. All they have to do is add some vitamins and whole grains and it's a "healthy alternative". The saturated/polyunsaturated fat thing, food pyramid, it's mostly horse shit. "Everything is fine in moderation" is a bit like saying a wee drop of heroin now and again is grand. They make all this muck addictive, multi pack it, supersize it, bogof it, market it and then blame us for over consuming and getting sick.
https://youtu.be/TUADs-CK7vI
Watch this documentary, I'd be interested to hear peoples thoughts.

[Olly]

Yes and it's mostly white chocolate that's doing the damage. White chocolate mice are delicious and sometimes I eat about 800 of them in one sitting and end up in ENT with a range of complications.

[Last Man]

Yes and it's mostly white chocolate that's doing the damage. White chocolate mice are delicious and sometimes I eat about 800 of them in one sitting and end up in ENT with a range of complications.

Santa will bring you one of these, maybe you've already got one!
https://amzn.eu/d/2jV9nGi

[grounded]

MR2 hit on it earlier - people here smoke, eat and drink too much and expect the healthcare system to step in and look after them free of charge. Lifestyle illnesses are costing billions each year. If there was a charge at point of use people might look after themselves a bit better. The number of obese people on the streets is wild.

That isn't a problem restricted to Nordieland though, it's the case in pretty much the whole of the developed world and even in parts of the developing world.

Thats what they say, it's all our fault yet the big food corporations employ scientists to make their crap hyperpalitable, moreish, addictable. All they have to do is add some vitamins and whole grains and it's a "healthy alternative". The saturated/polyunsaturated fat thing, food pyramid, it's mostly horse shit. "Everything is fine in moderation" is a bit like saying a wee drop of heroin now and again is grand. They make all this muck addictive, multi pack it, supersize it, bogof it, market it and then blame us for over consuming and getting sick.
https://youtu.be/TUADs-CK7vI
Watch this documentary, I'd be interested to hear peoples thoughts.

Great documentary. Corn syrup was the answer!
        Once the science experts conned the public into believing the low fat/ high carb diet was the answer, the food industry had a ready made substitute (effectively a waste product) to bulk out the foods with and make them healthy!
       
         

[Wildweasel74]

Not necessarily true, I had bad asthma all my life, I. Recent yrs considerably worse, I look back and wonder how I could do sports, at all when I was younger, got a good enough lifestyle, barely drink, gym 3/4 times a week, but my weakness in my chest means I need to see a gp more often than most. It's impossible to get a appointment unless you half dying. 2nd time I got Covid I was off work 3, 1/2 months I was so unwell. Some people it's not lifestyle, just born with a bad weakness.

[AustinPowers]

Not necessarily true, I had bad asthma all my life, I. Recent yrs considerably worse, I look back and wonder how I could do sports, at all when I was younger, got a good enough lifestyle, barely drink, gym 3/4 times a week, but my weakness in my chest means I need to see a gp more often than most. It's impossible to get a appointment unless you half dying. 2nd time I got Covid I was off work 3, 1/2 months I was so unwell. Some people it's not lifestyle, just born with a bad weakness.

Yes good point. I was thinking similar

People giving out about  others always seeing their gp  tend to be in good health themselves . 

Yes there are some who never leave the surgery for trivial matters ,  but as you say , there are people who due to bad genes , a bad accident, emotional  trauma  from the troubles etc , need to probably see their gp more than the average person.  It's not always a case of  poor lifestyle.

[Last Man]

Not necessarily true, I had bad asthma all my life, I. Recent yrs considerably worse, I look back and wonder how I could do sports, at all when I was younger, got a good enough lifestyle, barely drink, gym 3/4 times a week, but my weakness in my chest means I need to see a gp more often than most. It's impossible to get a appointment unless you half dying. 2nd time I got Covid I was off work 3, 1/2 months I was so unwell. Some people it's not lifestyle, just born with a bad weakness.

It plays a part yes but our standard diets have provoked an auto immune/ allergic explosion that exacerbates these chronic issues. Ever looked into an elimination diet to see how your asthma reacted. Some of these things can be environmental of course but diet is certainly a good place to start in terms of low hanging fruit.
The system is log jammed with an avoidable chronically diseased population, so when you need acute care it can't be had in any effective way.