Operose Health has grown rapidly in recent years - it has spent millions buying GP practices. It now runs 70 surgeries with nearly 600,000 patients, making it the biggest GP provider to the NHS.
Across the UK, there is a shortage of GPs and general practice is under unprecedented pressure. Former Operose employees who spoke to Panorama - a dozen doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other staff - said they believed patient safety was being put at risk.
The other receptionists are telling me this practice âruns on locumsâ, meaning a lot of the GPs who work here are like freelancers - only working a shift here or there.
Staff in the central admin team say theyâre sometimes being told to process complex medical documents. They tell me theyâre concerned theyâll make mistakes, but that management tell them to hit their targets.
They tell me they skim-read, even if they donât understand the information they are looking at. This team is the first point where these documents are read and, if something is missed, it could mean delaying or risking vital patient care.
Today a patient came in and complained that he was never able to see his named GP, who was also the GP director. As I began to explain that this doctor doesnât come into the practice, that I had never seen him and that other staff had told me that he comes in rarely, I was swept away from the front desk.
I know some of this is copied and pasted, but it needs to be read because its scary stuff!
Surely this is illegal?
I assume that as this has been publicised, this practice and others like it should be investigated and probably closed down - and the medical staff running the show have their medical qualifications rescinded.
@PixieKnuckles Bloody hell Pixie, l knew something was up !!
Letâs hope panorama can follow this up because it sounds like the
NHS is being taken over by a corporation to me ??
Donkeyman!
Is anybody really surprised at this?
It has been happening slowly over the last 20 years, but when Covid arrived they realized that our NHS was offering too many services that it couldnât afford. Our generation got the best of the NHS, but if we donât stop seeing the doctor for minor health problems I believe that the NHS will disappear, or we will have to pay considerably more for it.
If people with money discover they can get better care via private health care, they will pay and all good doctors will earn more. That means that the NHS will be run by very busy doctors & nurses who dont have the time to care !
Why do you think we are being persuaded to eat healthier foods & exercise more?
We all want an easier life but some of the health problems are caused by eating too much & doing too little!
No, I am not. I changed GPs about ten years ago: a brand spanking new health centre opened close to home. Itâs run by some anonymous group based in the midlands. I donât have a GP (by name), the place is run my locums. GRRR
I canât bear to watch Panorama ⊠its sensational, tabloid reporting style. GRRR
My bold. We mustnât forget that the NHS now has a vast army of bureaucrats which they didnât in the old days. That is where much of the money goes, so I donât accept that they âcanât afford some servicesâ. Replace many of the paper shufflers with medical and paramedical staff and theyâll be able to provide more essential services.
I do agree about those patients who bother the surgeries with minor health problems. I have seen that myself and still see people queueing up at the chemist for such things as headache tablets which can be bought more cheaply over the counter anyway.
@JBR , Yeah you are right JB, too many bean counters and not enough
bean pickers !!
I am not surprised either, but what panorama has reported seems to be
at another level now, and is happening at a faster rate than the previous
slow creep of decline we experienced ??
I disagree with dOOdây about panorama because things like this need
highlighting , otherwise we will be dispossessed of everything we have
fought for over the years if left too long , just look at the migrant crisis ??
Donkeyman!
This all got started by 2012 Health and Social Care Act
And of course Johnson and the Tories love the idea of letting the profiteers get their hands on our NHS.
And Johnson even appointed the ex chief executive of Operose to be chief operating officer and permanent secretary for Downing Street to help to establish a new Office of the Prime Minister in February
@Maree, Thanks for the info Maree, looks like they are concentrating on
London, where there are most fish to be caught in their net ??
Luckily my area seems to be less profitable so we are clear for the moment !
Not that you would notice though !
Donkeyman!
I went to get bloods taken today for a routine check, and apparently there are âhubsâ being set up all across the towns and cities who can do âminor treatmentsâ. This includes taking blood, womens health checks, mens health checks, giving out prescriptions, issuing antibiotics, etc, etc. Kind of likeâŠa bit more involved than Minor Ailments at the chemist, but not like visiting your GP.
I was told by a health professional (nurse) that this âtakes the pressure off GPâs and allows them to concentrate on major issuesâ They also said it was going to get worseâŠand when I asked in what way, the conversation was moved onto something else.
Like what major issues I wonder? Most of the doctors at my practice are off âsickâ and its locums doing the work, and at A & E you need to make an appointment before attending with your broken leg or whatever emergency you might have. An appointment for A&EâŠI never thought I would see the day this sort of thing happened.
I canât believe that. Ridiculous. If I needed to go to A&E for something like that, Iâd just go. What are they going to do? Lock the doors and tell me to go home?
If so, Iâd sit on the ground outside and apprise the local newspaper or TV station of my plight!
You can turn up randomly if you are having a heart attack or a stroke, but thatâs about the limit of the emergency. Otherwise please make an appointment via NHS24.
What about if youâre having difficulty in breathing?
How about if you have fallen unconscious?
Is it not possible to call 999 and ask for an ambulance these days?
How about if you are in prison. Will they send you to A&E if you are in any of the above situations?
What if you are an illegal immigrant?
Oh I have no idea what the protocol is in these situations, JBâŠI just think the whole thing is ridiculous. Iâm reading in my news feed now that chemists are now going to be able to do cancer referrals (paywall so I canât link). So for all this extra work put onto pharmacies, are they going to want more pay? I think soâŠand if they donât get it, what happens then?
Yes, I have read reports of that as well.
At the same time, we only seem to have part time GPs, who donât actually see patients but may, if youâre lucky, speak to you on the telephone (probably working from home).
It occurs to me that perhaps we no longer need a GP service at all. If youâre ill, go to hospital. That, of course, assumes that you will be allowed to enter!
privatising the NHS sneakily and encouraging a US company to exploit the NHS
Iâm reading in my news feed now that chemists are now going to be able to do cancer referrals (paywall so I canât link). So for all this extra work put onto pharmacies, are they going to want more pay? I think soâŠand if they donât get it, what happens then?