The General Practitioner

The General Practitioner – A Busy Front-Line Defender

On the soccer field, the eleven players are divided into three types of specialist. There are forwards whose task is to attack the opposing team’s goal, while the midfield players alternate between attack and defence to assist the backs in helping the keeper to defend their own goal. In the latter case, up to eight players act to limit the pressure on a ninth – the goalkeeper. In the field of medicine, however, the process is reversed and it is left to a single player, the general practitioner (GP), to limit the pressure on others in the healthcare team.

For example, someone who may have been experiencing joint pain for several days would not normally begin by attempting to make an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon or a rheumatologist. Instead, they would almost certainly want to speak to the family doctor first. In many cases, a GP will be in a position to provide the necessary treatment, such as a mild muscle relaxant, without the need for more specialised attention. Conversely, if a general practitioner believes that a patient’s condition needs specialised attention, it will be their responsibility to provide that patient with a letter of referral to an appropriate specialist.

While it is generally accepted that the role of the family doctor is that of a primary healthcare contact, there has to be an avenue for those whose condition may require immediate attention. In the event of a serious injury or acute, debilitating pain, a hospital A&E department accepts patients without appointments or referrals. Often, however, someone with the skills of a general practitioner will still be responsible for performing a preliminary examination and for directing A&E patients for more specialised examination and treatment, when this is seen to be necessary.

As a direct result of their open-door policy, A&E departments are often unduly busy as many patients with relatively minor ailments see them as a convenient means to bypass the frequent delays in obtaining a vacant appointment slot at their general practitioner. While this practice is understandable, unfortunately, it also leads to excessive workloads for those who man these departments, which can lead to unacceptable delays in attending to those patients who have a genuine need for urgent attention.

The difficulty in securing an early GP appointment is a problem that has been growing in recent years and it is one that has captured the attention of the private healthcare group, Intercare. To solve the problem, its primary care and wellness centres operate an extended service which includes weekend consulting. At Intercare securing an appointment with a general practitioner is quick and simple with an online app.