Jayne Dowle: No substitute for GPs being based in their local community

It’s a pity that the recent poll of family doctors didn’t ask the people who matter most – the patients – where they would prefer to seek non-emergency medical help. I think I know what the answer would be. There is no substitute for a well-staffed easily-accessible surgery within easy travelling distance of home, backed up by reliable out-of-hours care.

However, a recent survey held on behalf of a healthcare firm found that six out of 10 health professionals think it would be a good idea to base GP surgeries in hospitals.

This, it is argued, would relieve pressure on general practice. It would also somehow prevent people from turning up at A&E with minor ailments and issues which should really be dealt with by a general doctor.

I wonder if I am missing the point. Surely, siting a GP surgery in an A&E department would only add to the pressure on a hospital rather than relieve it? More people would funnel into this one destination, rather than seeking medical attention closer to home.

Just think of the problems in terms of hospital management. Who would be responsible for deciding if a sick or injured person could be dealt with by a GP, or whether they needed to be seen by an A&E doctor? Having spent more than enough time in hospital waiting rooms in recent years, I can only see this bringing more demands on administrative and triage staff.

Also, consider the knock-on effects on the hospital itself. Anyone who has tried to park within easy walking distance of the front door will tell you that most hospital car-parks are full to bursting already. Not only would this cause tempers to fray, it would lead to congestion on all roads surrounding.

That’s assuming you have a car to get there in the first place. Plenty of people, including many parents of young children, are not able to drive. This plan would put countless vulnerable youngsters and their families at the mercy of public transport or expensive taxi firms.

Honestly, once you start to look at this notion, the implausibility is clear. What’s more, it runs entirely counter to the trend of closing or restricting services in local hospitals. What would happen in Huddersfield, for example, where health chiefs have voted to close the A&E department? If we follow the logic, those seeking GP services would end up trekking to the Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax.

At a time when A&E departments are under unprecedented pressure, and when doctors and nurses can’t find the beds for those who need them, the last thing they surely want are even more people to deal with. It is yet another example of those who run our Health Service being out of touch with the individuals it is intended to serve.

You can’t help but wonder if this is a backhanded way to put us all off seeking medical help when we need it.

I’ve even heard a comment from one doctors’ leader who said that the plan would help elderly people struggling to get an appointment with a GP. I wonder when this particular expert last dealt with an elderly patient? Many over-65s find it difficult to leave the house, never mind contemplate a journey to hospital unless it’s in an ambulance. Why don’t these doctors’ leaders concentrate their efforts on lobbying to improve the services offered in local surgeries instead?

Our own modern multi-panel family practice, for example, stands half-empty most of the time. It was built under the auspices of a previous NHS plan, with the idea that minor operations, medical tests and so on could be carried out under its roof. This has not exactly come to pass.

What’s the point of it being under-used while chiefs tie themselves into knots trying to find ways of dealing with the influx of patients seeking help? Every time I go there, I wonder why all those treatment rooms could not be utilised to expand the services on offer.

I suppose there is some clever financial explanation for this, hidden in the small print of the latest NHS funding document. Yet it can’t be the only ‘white elephant’ cast adrift in the face of increasingly desperate attempts to solve the problem of too many patients attempting to access an ever-shrinking service.

And that’s another thing. Our general hospital in Barnsley is already crammed. Where would a GP surgery physically fit? The cost in terms of seeking a site and readying it for use would surely outweigh that of investing further funds in local surgeries which already exist.

We all know that a remedy must be found to tackle access to GP care. This latest idea however is too hard to swallow, never mind put into practice.