GPs do extra hours to meet patients’ demands
DOCTORS are being asked to work longer hours to fit in extra patients at some practices due to a surge in demand for appointments.
And as flu and other respiratory viruses are being seen in patients, as well as Covid, Public Health has advised islanders to stay home if they are unwell, even after a negative lateral flow test.
The announcement from Public Health came as the schools head back for the new term today, and many people returned to work after an extended break over Christmas and New Year.
A rise in patients seeking appointments has led to the IslandHealth practices asking its doctors to see extra patients at the end of their morning and afternoon clinics.
‘Our surgeries are particularly busy but we believe it is very important that patients are offered the chance to be seen by a doctor when they contact us for an appointment,’ said practice chairwoman Dr Julia Rebstein.
‘We are committed to seeing any IslandHealth patient who needs to be seen on the day if they need an on-the-day appointment.’
The practice also has a duty doctor and an acute visit doctor on every day as well, she said.
Islanders could go to the Emergency Department at the hospital if they are unable to secure an appointment. One woman spoken to by the Guernsey Press did so yesterday, having been unable to get an appointment until Friday at her regular surgery, or today at another. She said it was quiet at the hospital.
Public Health said in a statement yesterday: ‘Spreading viruses in the community can have a significant impact on those who are vulnerable due to health issues that we might not be able to see, staff who work in our care homes and the hospital, teachers in our schools and the many others amongst us who provide essential services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.’
If people who have had a negative LFT but feel unwell have to go out, they are being asked to avoid public places and to consider wearing a mask.
In Jersey a group that represents the island’s GPs has gone one step further and asked people with coughs or colds to wear a mask if they go out to avoid a ‘perfect storm’ of illnesses.
More people appear to be wearing masks locally at present.
