Our new resident doctor shares how to get the best from your GP appointment when the clock’s ticking
The clinic WOMAN’S GP DR HELEN WALL ON HER TOPIC OF THE WEEK
MEET OUR NEW GP
It’s never easy meeting a new GP for the first time, but I’m excited to be here as your new columnist. Those of you ‘up with the larks’ may have seen me on the BBC red sofa as the regular GP for BBC Breakfast. I’ve been a GP for over 10 years (in medicine for almost 20), and people often wrongly assume that means I can treat my family or myself. With the loss of over 2,000 full-time equivalent GPs in the past eight years and the average number of consultations per patient doubling, acquiring an appointment with yours can be super-stressful these days – even for me. That’s why making every minute count is essential.
Most GPs would love to have longer than 10 minutes, which is the usual time allotted to a single appointment. This includes calling the patient in, removing clothing, listening, examining and coming up with a plan, plus any documentation. If we had longer appointments we’d have fewer of them and, sadly, you’d wait longer. In between patients we are often asked to deal with urgent prescription requests, give advice to colleagues and so on.
It’s not uncommon for patients to spend several minutes complaining about the telephone lines, the receptionist or the wait times. Complaining may be entirely appropriate, but use your precious appointment to talk about your health and contact us separately. Most GPs will give you an open start to tell your story, such as, ‘What’s been happening?’ This is your golden time to get a concise story across about your problem. It’s hard, but try to get to the point and give us a timeline, including your thoughts and concerns – jot them down first, if it he
