Added to this are the 'moans' I hear in my social circle about the difficulty in getting access to see their doctor and at work trying to find the time for face to face care when the whole day is pre-booked with telephone assessment with or without video. Yes, it's great for many things, but can we think about moving to using non-clinical triaging so reception staff can use their skills and allow direct contact without the steps of telephone triage and e-consult if the 'patient' does not want this?
The huge drop in the cancer and heart referrals over the last 5 months suggest that the new model has the potential to miss serious problems before we move into the training and job satisfaction problems it may cause.
Rapid Response:
Re: Helen Salisbury: Teleconsultations for all
Dear Editor
Brave article stating the truth. Thank you.
Added to this are the 'moans' I hear in my social circle about the difficulty in getting access to see their doctor and at work trying to find the time for face to face care when the whole day is pre-booked with telephone assessment with or without video. Yes, it's great for many things, but can we think about moving to using non-clinical triaging so reception staff can use their skills and allow direct contact without the steps of telephone triage and e-consult if the 'patient' does not want this?
The huge drop in the cancer and heart referrals over the last 5 months suggest that the new model has the potential to miss serious problems before we move into the training and job satisfaction problems it may cause.
Competing interests: No competing interests