Early test for labour

https://www.theguardian.com/society...age-industrial-action-over-19-budget-increase

Wonder where Labour will find the money for this.

 

Reading the news articles on this, it seems that there is some sort of acknowledgement that it's an inherited problem, and it looks like there's an intention to allow the new government to work on a new contract, with the votes essentially creating a mandate for escalation further down the line.

There are non-pay issues to be resolved too, particularly the increasing use of Physician Associates, who are not qualified doctors, but whom the GP practices are essentially forced to recruit under current restrictions. Consequently, there are fewer vacancies for GPs to find work.

Wes Streeting's tweet today sums up the situation fairly succinctly, "We inherited an absurd situation, where patients can’t get a GP appointment, and GPs can’t get a job."

 

My local gp practice is woeful... Partly because there aren't any gp's! It got taken over by some private consortium a good while ago and since then the service has gone downhill. You log into their app (which is the only way they will take any 'appointment') and it first tries to get you to go to a private practice for £69 if not, go to a&e. I'm not actually sure what the bank of receptionists in a huge new purpose built building actually do all day.

 

Are GPs still a thing? Before covid if you walked into our local surgery anytime of day, it was packed. Now there's only ever a couple of people waiting, but you still can never get an appointment.
My Mrs needs HRT and various medicines for menopausal issues, so goes online after midnight, as that's when the appointments are released.....dunno how there can be no appointments at that stage, whos getting them? After about a week of trying, finally gets thru and ticks the box to have a face to face GP appointment......when she arrives it's actually a trainee registrar doing the appointments, no GPs available and she hasn't got a clue, "will need to speak to our menopause specialist". Never hear anything despite her chasing it numerous times. This has happened more than once, to the extent that we've now spent £800 to date privately to sort the issue out, and that will only increase. I really don't feel like we have an NHS anymore.

 

Our family practice which is Ashville medical practice are absolutely great whenever we’ve had to use there services………however where my wife is trrrible, you’d get an afternoon tea with the king quicker than an appointment