Dear LPG,
 
Let me tell you about my doctor.   I had been one of his patients for so many years that we were on first-name terms.   Eventually there were two doctors who practised together so if one wasn’t there the other would be.  They saw all patients that ‘walked in’ on the day of their visit and my doctor knew my medical history. But in 2014, I found myself a little older with a few more health issues, and outside his catchment area.
 
There was little choice but to join a large group practice for the first time and the experience has been a real culture shock for me. I feel as if my local shop has closed and the hypermarket they replaced it with just isn’t working.   I have seen five different GPs in little over a year, I cannot get through when I telephone, getting an appointment on the day that I have a medical crisis is a matter of luck, and the doctors, nurses and admin staff always appear so under pressure that I feel rushed if I get seen at all.
 
The present system does not take into consideration that people cannot choose when they get ill.  I think that there should be dedicated doctors for walk-in surgeries and I know that I really appreciated a doctor who knew about all of my problems.  I live in Catford and I see all the new flats going up while I ask myself how many of their new inhabitants are going to be added to the already overfull client lists of my GP?
 
The old arrangement worked best before computerised systems and self-administrating group practices.  I paid for this service all the time I was working, paying national insurance contributions, and now that I really need it, I have to say that standards are dropping.