17/02/2026
Almost 12 hours I’ve been at work.
GP’s are paid per session. A session is apparently 4 hours.
So today I worked 2 sessions so will be paid for 8 hours
I was in the door at 7:50am and although my first patient wasn’t until 8:30, I had 35 blood results to file/act on/and urine results that required antibiotics for UTI. And then you have to let the patient know that they have a UTI and where to collect prescription from. And some really abnormal blood results so you probably ought to check in with that patient to make sure they’re ok/safe to be at home and not hospital.
That’s just what you need to do first thing but you have no time allocated for. Then at some point in the day you need to look at the 20-30 letters you’ve been sent - maybe about patients that are “yours” but whom you’ve never met. Hospitals discharging patients asking you to sort blood tests in 2 weeks or start some new medication for them or follow them up to make sure their med is working. There are letters from opticians asking you to refer to ophthalmologists - why can’t they do it themselves?! They saw the patient 😡. Then there are insurance reports, sick notes, patients requesting letters so they can claim for their cancelled holiday. No time is allocated in your day for this either.
Then there are ‘tasks’ - around 20 little jobs that come into your inbox asking you questions, usually about medications “can patient X have some more Codeine because they’ve requested it last week and aren’t due any yet”. Sometimes it’s reception saying this patient wants to see you because things are worse since you saw them last but there aren’t any appointments to book into. So they ask you what you should do.
What should you do? Book them into non existent appointments in your own time? Tell them to go away and try again tomorrow?
Then, and what most people think is “all we do”, then there are the morning and afternoon booked in 12 x 15 minute APPOINTMENTS morning and afternoon.
Thanks if you’ve read this far. It’s not a moan but an explanation as to what goes on behind the GP’s door.
We might look like we’re doing nothing but there is SO MUCH to the job other than seeing patients.