"We’ve got very elderly people in the block and they are panic stricken, they don’t want to go to a huge new place with doctors who don’t know them.” Debra McDermott, 54, is one of many patients hit by the recent closing of her local GP surgery. The surgery has provided highly rated care to her estate community for decades. Its 'crime' is offering appointments that run slightly over the rigid 5 - 10 minutes GPs are now told to stick to. “David is a doctor who knows you are ill before you do, and who listens to what you say and responds. He sees my son and my grandchildren." Another vulnerable patient worried for her safety: "I have such depression and David is my safety blanket. I might not make it without him."
Dr David Zigmond took a stand on behalf of quality patient care by insisting on offering 15 minute appointments, and the Care Quality Commission took immediate action that has resulted in a beloved doctor and his vital community service being taken away from those who need it.
The BMA also agree that 15 minutes would produce better diagnoses and care, especially for patients with complex needs such as the elderly. This would not only make doctors more able to their jobs and improve patient welfare, it would also actually save money for the NHS over time.
As a chronically ill person with complex health needs, I have struggled to get adequate care thanks to rushed appointments. I know the BMA are right, and I am thankful to Dr Zigmond for taking a stand. Please sign my petition asking that appointments of up to 15 minutes be available for chronic or complex health needs, and that Dr David Zigmond's much needed local practice be reinstated. Together we can stand by Dr Zigmond in demanding the best possible patient care.
Jeremy Hunt and the Care Quality Commission:
I am writing today to urge you to offer 15 minute GP appointments to those who need them such as elderly people and the chronically ill, as per the advice of the BMA.
I am also asking that you reinstate the practice of Dr David Zigmond who took a principled stand in offering 15 minute appointments and whose practice was shut down by the CQC.
Health outcomes are better, and therefore money is saved, when GP appointments are long enough to provide a deeper level of insight into the life and health of the patient.
Closing Dr Zigmund's excellent surgery was punitive and unhelpful for patients, and the CQC needs to be able to exercise leniency in cases that require it.
[Your comments]
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
