GPs in England say they have ‘no idea’ how many of their patients have coronavirus because the Government is not sharing test results with them. Family doctors and councils were promised the results from hundreds of thousands of swabs carried out at drive-through centres weeks ago. But the Government’s national testing programme coordinator said there … Read more
Retired GPs who have volunteered to return to the NHS and fight the coronavirus pandemic say they haven’t heard anything since applying last month. One frustrated former doctor said there had been a ‘deafening silence’ since they signed up, while another feels ‘useless and unwanted’. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said almost 12,000 retired NHS staff … Read more
GPs have been told to take pictures of suspicious moles on their phones before referring patients to a skin-cancer specialist. Under new plans, general practitioners working across four areas in North East England will have to take three photographs on their mobiles, which then get sent to a consultant for review. The specialist may then … Read more
Norwegian government uses cellular data tracking users’ movements to model the potential spread of coronavirus and anticipate what parts of the country will need medical supplies Norway is using cellular data to track the movements of people in groups of 20 The movement data is used to predict where COVID-19 flare-ups might occur Cell provider … Read more
How is the pandemic affecting general practice, the mainstay of NHS care? Across the UK, thousands of GPs are having to find new ways of looking after patients — potentially changing how all of us are treated in future, as this fascinating weekly diary, written by a GP in Yorkshire, reveals. The author, Dr Nick … Read more
Elderly care home residents are essentially being left to die from coronavirus by ‘ageist’ GPs, warned the chief of Care England. Professor Martin Green, chief executive of the UK’s independent social care service, alleged one doctor wrote to a home refusing to visit pensioners, saying they will not be admitted to hospital amid the pandemic. … Read more
GPs order patients to stay away from surgeries as they are urged to not even phone ‘overstretched’ doctors Anyone with Covid-19 symptoms does need to be seen in person, they will be asked to wait outside GPs have also been warned they must return to the days of making home visits Senior medical figures admit … Read more
GPs on the coronavirus frontline are being supplied with face masks that expired four years ago, it has emerged. Boxes of masks handed out to multiple GP surgeries by NHS England are printed with an expiry date of 2016. But in an apparent attempt to conceal the issue, stickers showing a later expiry date of … Read more
Medical safeguards introduced following the conviction of Britain’s most notorious serial killer Dr Harold Shipman will be temporarily relaxed as Ministers are handed sweeping new powers to tackle coronavirus. Under emergency legislation to be put before MPs within days, strict rules around the registration of deaths and cremations will be put on hold to ease … Read more
An autism test used by GPs to flag adults with the condition in adults is ‘unreliable’, academics have said. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) screens adults who are suspected of having the condition but do not have learning disabilities. They are asked 10 questions including ‘do you notice small sounds others don’t?’ and ‘do you find … Read more