LibDems highlight people turning to DIY healthcare in NHS crisis

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The LibDems have received widespread media coverage, including in the Guardian and Times, after highlighting that people are turning to DIY medicine because they can’t get a GP appointment.

The Guardian report says:

Almost one in four people have bought medicine online or at a pharmacy to treat their illness after failing to see a GP face to face, according to a UK survey underlining the rise of do-it-yourself treatment.

Nearly one in five (19%) have gone to A&E seeking urgent medical treatment for the same reason, the research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows.

One in six (16%) people agreed when asked by the pollsters Savanta ComRes if the difficulty of getting an in-person family doctor appointment meant they had “carried out medical treatment on yourself or asked somebody else who is not a medical professional to do so”.

The relevant LibDem media release says:

Of people who failed to get a face-to-face GP appointment in the past year, a staggering one in six resorted to being a “DIY Doctor”, admitting to carrying out medical treatment on themselves or asking somebody else who is not a medical professions to do so.

The new poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats found amongst those who said they have tried but couldn’t get a face-to-face GP appointment in their local area in the last 12 months, one in four (24%) self-prescribed medication online or at a pharmacy without GP advice, one in five (19%) went to A&E, whilst three in ten (31%) gave up all together on securing an appointment.

Over a quarter (29%) of people have tried and failed to get a face-face GP appointment in their local area over the past twelve months. Those in London (35%) and the rest of the South East (34%) are most likely to say they have tried but could not get a face-to-face appointment. One in four in Scotland (24%) and one in five in Wales (19%) also failed in getting a face-to-face appointment.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to recruit 8,000 more doctors and have set out plans to give patients a legal right to see a GP within seven days. It would be achieved through increasing training places for GPs, fixing pension rules to discourage so many doctors retiring early, and launching a recruitment drive to encourage those who’ve left the NHS to return.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“This is a national scandal. Face-to-face GP appointments have become almost extinct in some areas of the country. We now have the devastating situation where people are left treating themselves or even self-prescribing medication because they can’t see their local GP. The British public pay their fair share to the NHS, but years of Government mismanagement and neglect of local health services has left millions unable to see their GP.

“Patients are suffering from years of neglect under the Conservative Government, who have repeatedly broken their promise to recruit more GPs.

“Liberal Democrats would guarantee people a right to a GP appointment within one week so people can get the care they deserve. This would reduce pressure on our hospitals and paramedics, saving crucial time and money elsewhere in the NHS.”

* News Meerkat - keeping a look-out for Liberal Democrat news. Meerkat photo by Paul Walter

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7 Comments

  • The details of the data here are very vague and non-specific. People dealing with problems themselves may not be as bad as it sounds. It could be people buying Paracetamol for a headache, or Lemsip for a cold instead of bothering their GP.

    I can speak from experience as a hospital doctor, that a very large proportion (not a majority though) of presentations at A&E are a total waste of time (either trivial, self-limiting or hypochondrial), and this situation is getting worse. You may say it’s better for people to present and be safe than sorry and some might die or be harmed by not presenting, but we’ve long reached the point that the proportion of total waste of time stuff is now so huge that it is a drain and distraction of clinical staff, that I suspect the number of people dying or being harmed because of overstretched clinical staff is more than the few worthwhile needles in the giant and expanding haystack of waste of time presentations. I can’t speak from experience of GP-land, but GP friends who serve urban clinics (totally different story for rural settings, also true of hospital) say the majority of appointments now are a waste of time

    So a bit of old fashioned common sense, resilience and smart intuition where people see if they can deal with small problems themselves isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is certainly something liberals try to nurture in society (independence etc etc)

  • Ruth Bright 4th Jan '23 - 11:25am

    Having been gaslighted by doctors for a serious problem Iast year I for one would love to see a bit more compassion from posters here!

    Ed Davey was not my choice for leader but all power to him for putting patients needs before vested interests.

  • We should remember in recent years the health emphasis has changed to preventative specifically encouraging people to take more care of themselves and to perform their own diagnosis to determine whether they really need to visit their doctor or go to A&E. Additionally, “ask the pharmacist” has been part of normal medical care since whenever.

    The challenge is clearly supporting this and providing both ready access to reliable health and medical information so people can assess their condition. This needs to be combined with clear guidance as when expert help should be sought and for that referral process to work.

    Our local GP now employs a medical practitioner who triages all calls for appointments, this process has meant whilst calls take longer, the appointment is with a more appropriate member of staff, or with the local walk-in A&E etc.

    @Ruth – I suspect part of the problem is what’s on your notes! A deceased friend had problems that his regular doctor dismissed, it wasn’t until he saw a locum who had been unable to read his notes that was he taken seriously, he was admitted to hospital that day and died a few weeks later from cancer.

  • Ruth Bright 4th Jan '23 - 2:31pm

    Roland – alas, so sorry to hear about your friend. Spot on about notes. I have my medical records now. Full of misogyny. Ockenden report quotes a young Mum with legitimate concerns being described as: “Fat and anxious”.

  • @RuthBright

    And herein lies the problem. Whilst I can’t comment on your experience, one reason doctors may not be showing you the compassion you expect is because they are so overwhelmed with their work demands. When so much presenting to doctors now being a waste of time, not only are doctors having to see far more patients, but the decreasing proportion of patients with issues that actually do need medical attention naturally means doctors’ attention and detection of real problems gets gradually desensitised (similarly with other investigative professions that get overwhelmed with increasing volumes of information of decreasing usefulness, such as police, intelligence officers and social workers).

    And that is before we get onto the bureaucratisation of healthcare (endless tick box form filling to allegedly ensure quality assurance, equality, care standardisation and other such claims), which can take the spirit out of even the most enthusiastic of practitioners.

    And don’t forget that not all patients are nice polite folk that most Lib Dems are accustomed to in their work and social circle. Before a doctor has seen you, you have no idea how many previous patients that day have been abusive (thankfully rarely physically) to him/her

    I don’t expect you to know and understand the realities of clinical work, but just as you expect compassion, remember compassion (and empathy, the ability of putting yourself in others’ shoes) is a two way thing

  • Ruth Bright 5th Jan '23 - 8:34am

    It is interesting that James assumes someone who posts on LDV is likely to be from a comfy gentrified world! I have worked with people with dementia and been hit at work; so I do understand the pressures. Does he really mean that a “decreasing proportion of patients…actually need medical attention”. How tiresome for doctors if they feel that A and E is full of the uncouth crying wolf!

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