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Patrick Wynn - Notes from a Modern GP
Notes from a Modern GP Dr Patrick Wynn
I’ve been a GP for 22 years and involved in medicine for much longer. In fact, I always knew I wanted to become a doctor, but it’s true to say that the reality is very different from the dream. As students we knew about the long hours and the reams of paperwork, but the satisfaction of resolving a patient’s clinical conundrum was always the ultimate goal.
As I get longer in the tooth, the healthcare sphere is changing. We’ve never stopped seeing patients at home or in the practice, but the consultation process is transitioning to a digital front end. With an increasingly ageing population living with noncommunicable diseases, primary care professionals are seeing more and more people, and this is where digital and telehealth comes in. Years ago you might queue outside the clinic from 8am and eventually see someone, but that queue is now a digital queue. You can text, email or consult online and wait for a call back - these are all new ways of queuing.
What this system allows general practitioners to do is implement care navigation to get patients to the right person. This might not be a doctor but another health professional instead. I’m always glad to see my regular patients, but this way they receive a higher level of care. I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to see the same patient each time, as we can all add something to the medical knowledge of each individual. Having said that, we know that people feel reassured to see the same doctor when their issues are troublesome or worrying.
So what exactly is a GP?
In the UK NHS (National Health Service), a general practitioner is just that – someone who knows a lot about many things. We’re good all-rounders, where a specialist or consultant is an expert in their own subject. Yet there’s a tendency for some of the population to think that a specialist in hospital would be more knowledgeable. What they fail to realise is that at a GP surgery we undertake front line assessment and management to deal with most conditions most of the time, and if needed we refer the patient to the right consultant. In this way, the specialist can concentrate on those who need their specialist knowledge the most.
So GPs are actually are navigators and can direct care more efficiently. Our services deal with most other issues immediately closer to home. We have nurses and physiotherapists, phlebotomists, pharmacists and mental health practitioners – we can be a one stop shop without the hassle.
In response to COVID our patients have adapted to the new digital front end very quickly and have confidence that our diagnoses are as good as they were fact to face. We still have the option to see people face to face if the patient wants it or if the doctor thinks it’s necessary.
As people live longer and have more comorbidities, continuity of care is key. The role of GPs is to keep patients out of hospital by identifying their issues and keeping a close eye on them so they can live fulfilling lives without endless hospital visits. Clearly this isn’t always the case, but it’s a well-documented fact that humans respond to human kindness, which is what we always try to provide.
It will take a while for everyone to understand fully the transition to digital and telehealth. But it will soon become clear that the adoption of the digital front end means that everybody can see the right professional at the right time in the right place.
Dr Patrick Wynn is GP Partner at the Health Care First Partnership in West Yorkshire.
