Top doctor reveals how many Doncaster patients are now seeing their GP face to face
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Dr David Crichton, chairman of the borough’s NHS Clinical Commissioning group, has told the Doncaster Free Press that the figure is now around 20 per cent after GPs changed the way they operate, after lockdown affected their ability to see patients in the traditional way.
He said: “These are unprecedented times, and no one saw it coming. I think we’ve moved from dealing with Covid to living with Covid. The virus is still around but thankfully levels are very low at the moment in Doncaster.
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Hide Ad"Services really are concentrating on getting up and running again, trying to reset and catch up.
"Surgery had to be put on hold and many people didn’t even attend doctors. Most services are describing that they are very busy and we are trying to meet people’s needs, while having to work in a very different way. There are lots more phone and video consultations than in the past.
"But that’s not to say we’re not seeing people. We have an initial conversation, and based on that about 20 per cent come in to see us face to face where we see them in person.”
Doctors are currently carrying out their winter planning, and are looking to get people to take ‘flu jabs, with medics wanting to avoid a combination of ‘flu and Covid potentially hitting the country during the winter.
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Hide AdDr Crichton said: “It’s really important to encourage people to have their ‘flu jab this year.”
He said work had been done to see some of the patients who had been left waiting for treatment because of the coronavirus lockdown at the private Park Hill Hospital, with those in the greatest need given priority.
"I think it is going to take some time for us to be in a position where everyone has had their treatment,” he said. “People should receive communication explaining where they are and what is going to happen.”