‘Hissy fits’ and blatant bullying: Sajid Javid vs. the GPs

93% of GPs in England see the health secretary’s plans to encourage face-to-face appointments as unacceptable

Sajid Javid
(Image credit: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

“Last week, a receptionist saved a patient’s life,” said Dr Berenice Langdon in The Independent. She gave him an immediate face-to-face appointment at my surgery: “I saw him and sent him to A&E urgently (any doctor would have done the same).” He was operated on later that day and survived.

The story makes an obvious point: “proper doctoring involves an examination”. Telephone consultations “are not as good”. Doctors know it; patients know it. Before the pandemic, about 80% of GP appointments were face-to-face. During lockdown, demand dropped radically, which was a relief for “some very stressed and overworked GPs”. But now, the proportion is still somewhere below 60%. This needs to change if we’re going to do our jobs properly.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up