No doctor

[Fran]

You can go to the pub now, a cafe, a restaurant, hairdresser, beautician even a dentist........but you can’t see a doctor. Doesn’t make sense to me

[Scunner]

village doctor - wait outside, whatever the weather, to pick up prescriptions.

[pat]

Have had two telephone consultations and two physical consultations with my doctors, been to hospital for a scan, results back in two days, all during lockdown - if after telephone consultations with triage nurse, then doctor if they consider you are ill they will see you.

So many people should go to the chemist initially and only go to medical/hospital as a last resort.

Many folk do not realise how highly qualified many other people are to diagnose various ailments people have - it does not always require to be seen by a medical doctor.

[The Horseman]

A thought.......
On a Thursday afternoon, in Kaitness, when I was about 13 years old....‘a few years ago‘.... I fell off a horse....as I was riding backwards!
I broke my wrist, so off we went to the Dr on Saturday morning.
After a long wait and he said it was broken.. put it in a ‘kind of’ splint, and said go to Hosp in Wick on Monday!
Took the bus..13 miles, again a long wait...in Xray they said it had set badly.
Dr came in and took a look, and as he was holding my arm said...oh look out there.....at that point he took it down hard on the side of the table, re breaking it.
Set it again, and it has been ‘fine’ for close to 60 years.
Caithness medicine at it’s best!
Regards......

[pat]

In those days they made folk of hardy stuff

Now they expect a doctor/ambulance to attend for a broken nail and often no consideration for people urgently requiring attention.

Wish more folk would take responsibility for their own health and that does not mean trying to attend the doctor/nurse for everything, watch your own diet and weight, consult other health professionals as appropriate.

[Kevin Milkins]

I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow , as a matter of fact she is coming to do a home visit.

[ecb]

"People should have phone or video consultations with their doctors unless there is a clinical reason not to, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says.

He said there had been a "hugely positive" response to virtual appointments during the coronavirus pandemic.

And there now needed to be a shift towards more "Zoom medicine," he added. ... ".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53592678

I don't know if the corresponding Scottish policy would be about this. Hopefully it would be secure and people without Internet access etc would not lose out.

[orkneycadian]

Just 1 step away from all the video consultations being farmed out to overseas call centres, because its cheaper. Now we know how well call centres, even in the UK, work for everything else. I tried phoning NHS 24 way back in March or something, but it was a total dead loss. After holding on the phone for several hours on a Sunday afternoon, I eventually got through to someone who took some details and said she would get a medical person to call back. They never did. Ended up going to the GP in May, by which time it was a lot worse, and the doctor there was not very complimentary about NHS24, and the fact its all about processing numbers of callers.

[ecb]

"Just 1 step away from all the video consultations being farmed out to overseas call centres, because its cheaper. Now we know how well call centres, even in the UK, work for everything else. ... " - May well happen. On the wider issue of jobs, I am worried that a lot of jobs that have been proved to be able be done from home during the Coronavirus lockdown, will be outsourced overseas resulting in people losing their jobs in this country.