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About Chris Preece
I've worked as a GP Partner in North Yorkshire since 2004, and still relish the peculiar challenge of never quite knowing what the next person through the door is going to present with. I sat on the Governing Body of my local CCG until April 2015, and despite thinking I had escaped that world for good, I'm now the Clinical Director of a Primary Care Network. When not being consumed by all things medical, I occupy myself by writing, gaming, and indulging the whims of my children. I have previously written and performed in a number of pantomimes, occupied the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square and won the 2016 “Caterpillar Story for Children Prize”. Tragically, my patients no longer tell me I look too young to be a doctor.
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COVID-19 RoomRecent Conversations
COVID testing of NHS staff and "fitness to practise"
A few weeks ago I had the dubious pleasure of being in isolation. My daughter started with a temperature and persistent cough, and a few days later I developed the same systems. The timing was interesting - at the outset there was no option of Covid testing for GPs in our area, but just as my daughter was ending her period of illness I had a call from the CCG offering me a test, which I duly attended for.It was negative. I'll be honest, I was sort of hoping it would be positive, so that I could at least feel like I'd "got through Covid". (There should be a T-Shirt or something.) Instead I was left wondering whether it was a false negative, as well as returning to a base line anxiety about how I would manage if and when I actually did get it.However, the thing that really struck me was that I was immediately told that I was fine to go back to work. I still didn't feel well - but as far as the system was concerned, I no longer had Covid-19, and thus all was good with the world. I realised that the sole reason for prioritising the testing of NHS workers was to let us go back to work, rather than any particular concern for our wellbeing. But here's the thing - just because it's not Covid, does that really mean it's OK to work? Is it really helpful for me to turn up to work with Unidentified Viral Illness Number 4,937? Especially at the moment? What does it say about the system that we work in that there is an immediate assumption that we'll get straight back on the coal face no matter how dreadful we feel, or infective we might be?(For what it's worth I worked from home for a while longer, just to be on the safe side. Well, that and the fact that I was supposedly on holiday...)So, yes, what do people think? Do you think the NHS approach to Covid betrays a rather lax regard for the overall welfare of its workforce - or do I need to just stop moaning and get on with it?
Recent Comments
Thank you Dr Preece for putting things clearly and asking the "what ifs".
The whole issue is too complicated for many to understand - just like NHS Pensions and tiered contributions and pension taxation!
In parallel, NHSEI are now also demanding that hospital Emergency Departments stop ambulance handover delays "immediately". As if nobody wanted to do that already and as if there was anywhere to hand patients over to... You are quite right: NHSEI and the Government are behaving like toddlers and our threats / negotiation tactics may not produce beneficial effects for us or our patients. However, unfortunately, these toddlers are the ones holding the wallet and threatening false safeguarding accusations of GPs against their patients.
Where they hold the upper hand is that our message is not clear enough to the public. Nobody wants to read a 2 page document of why the BMA is threatening Industrial Action on behalf of their GP members. If threatening IA we need to simplify and clarify our reasons and communicate them succinctly so that it is obvious that we are protecting our patients. Also, and perhaps more cynically, we need to remember that it is in the BMA's interest for more GPs to become members as this increases the BMA's income, so the BMA are likely to err on the side of "fireworks" to attract more members.
Thanks Nicola,
I absolutely agree that what's needed is very simple, clear messaging - particularly as we have a Government that seemingly responds more to what the newspapers are saying than what's actually needed. The message ought to be straight forward - there's not enough capacity to see people and without urgent action the situation will become worse - but it's been muddied, and poorly expressed.
Ironically the furore about face to face appointments ought to be something that could be used to make our point: it's a clear demonstration that GP appointments are hugely valued, whilst illustrating the problem with their growing scarcity - so it's odd that it's instead been allowed to be weaponised against us.