Dr Mary McCarthy: Prescriptions and paperwork all part of my day
Morning surgery has finished, though as I walk through the waiting room there are still people waiting to see the nurse or to get blood taken for tests, writes Shropshire GP Dr Mary McCarthy.
I come into the reception area to get a coffee and deal with the pile of repeat prescriptions that are waiting to be signed. In my "basket", apart from the prescriptions, there are queries from patients about sick notes, their medications or the results of recent blood tests.
In a recent survey it was found that each GP signs about 150 prescriptions every day and this understandably, takes time. Each one has to be checked carefully to make sure the drugs don't interact adversely with the other medication or that the patient isn't overusing – or underusing – their drugs. The review date needs to be looked at so that patients on long-term medication have regular blood tests, ECGs or blood pressure reviews.
After checking and signing my batch of prescriptions I head back to my room with a mug of coffee to deal with telephone calls and other queries. The telephone calls are almost like a second surgery and when I've gone through the list I go back to reception to meet the other doctors working that morning and to look at the requests for house visits.
These we divide out, sometimes by geographical region, sometimes by patient request and sometimes by whoever saw the patient last or feels they know them and their problems well. We take their summary sheet with us so we know their allergies, their past problems, the drugs they are on and the record of their last three consultations so that we have up-to-date knowledge of their complaints.
It has recently been suggested that pharmacists could come into practices to help with this workload since the UK has produced more pharmacists than they need but less GPS. Placing more pharmacists into GP practice teams is a move the British Medical Association has been advocating for some time.
This proposal has the potential to improve the skills mix in local GP services and raise the number of healthcare professionals on hand to provide help to patients. This will be a welcome step forward given that GP practices are currently under unprecedented strain from rising patient demand and falling resources.
The implementation of this programme will be key. For it to work properly, there will need to be more resources to enable enough pharmacists to be placed in GP surgeries. If we are to realise the potential behind this announcement, there will need to be a well thought out, adequately resourced plan to ensure it is delivered effectively.
