Dear LPG,

Do you remember when you knew your doctor and he knew you?  Mine was called Dr Freeman and when I was young and not well, I sat in the waiting room often feeling a bit wintery cold but in the knowledge that it was a lot colder outside. 

When it was my turn to see the Doctor, there was no initial silent gap where you sat there while the doctor read your notes before being able to ask about your present problem because he knew your history and it was all good.  I think that we have always thought the NHS had its problems, even  back then, but there was no queueing out in the early morning cold for people who were ill to start with. 

I can’t remember exactly which year it happened, but I do remember the day that my doctor became part of a Group Practise and everything changed.  Covid-19 brought us on to telephone and video calling,  and online consultations were born.  The jury is still out as to whether that system is better or worse, but we must remember that we are a lot better off than patients in so many other parts of the world, I suppose.   

When we look back the whole ‘going to see your doctor’ experience has changed radically.  

Does anyone remember about seven years ago when Jeremy Hunt proposed that everyone over the age of 75 should have a named doctor?

The other day I tried to help a friend fill in an online medical form where one of the questions asked for the name of her doctor and the name of the Group Practice and it was not allowing us to move onto the next online question, and that got me to thinking about who my actual doctor is.  At the time, we phoned the government department responsible for the form and they told us that my friend would have to find out who her dedicated GP is before we could continue. We then had to phone her surgery before being given an answer which took some time as you can imagine.   I mentioned this when I went to my surgery recently and was told to find the name of one of the group practice’s partners and quote that.  It got me thinking though, so I asked the internet.  I found a bit of information on a British Medical Association website which mentions that everyone has to have a named ‘Accountable GP’.

I am not sure that I found the definitive answer but perhaps it is something that we older patients, who are more dependent on health services, should know the answer to…

DM. Catford.

DM shares some helpful information…

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