Wigan GP speaks out amid huge demand for care as staff face 'unacceptable level of abuse'

A Wigan GP has spoken out about the verbal and online abuse faced by staff at her surgery as they struggle to cope with an increasing number of patients.
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Dr Nadia Ghalayini, a partner at Standish Medical Practice, took to Facebook to reveal what goes on at the health centre after “increasingly frequent spiteful and often defamatory statements about us on social media”.

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She said she could often not reply to these comments due to “patient confidentiality” and wanted to share an “open and honest message about the struggles we are facing every day”.

High demand at walk-in surgery pre-pandemic

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Dr Ghalayini explained how the practice ran a walk-in surgery every morning before the pandemic, which had so much demand that people would queue outside in the cold and rain an hour before it began so they could be seen by a doctor.

Many people did not need to be there, some patients complained about the length of time they had to wait and “it was extremely hard on clinicians, leading to resignations”, she said.

She said: “People seem to have forgotten that with Standish growing so quickly, the demand on our service was becoming unsustainable even prior to March 2020. Ten years ago we looked after 10,000 patients. We now look after almost 13,400 patients with less GP hours. Ten years ago we had seven GP partners. We now have three GP partners.”

Standish Medical PracticeStandish Medical Practice
Standish Medical Practice

Problems persist after turning to AskMyGP

Dr Ghalayini said AskMyGP is now used to triage patients, but they have received nearly 300 queries per day, despite closing the system after 30 minutes.

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She continued: “The British Medical Association has set a recommended limit of no more than 25 patient contacts a day per clinician – we have seen days where GP partners have dealt with over 80. And then when we finish work we see the social media posts about how we are lazy and overpaid.”

She said the “relentless” increase in the number of houses being built in Standish had led to a “relentless” increase in demand at the practice, while this winter has already seen a high number of cases of flu, coronavirus, scarlet fever and other infectious diseases.

Action taken to help patients

Hospital backlogs due to the pandemic meant patients were waiting longer for care, their needs had become more complex and the length of time GPs spend with them has had to be increased.

She said: “We are doing all we can to meet demand and reserve GP time for those who need it the most, with additional staff including pharmacists, physiotherapists and mental health workers in practice. We have hired five different locum doctors in recent months to help us to provide more access for patients but many patients refuse to see them. We have also advertised for new clinicians.

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"We understand completely that patients are frustrated at having to wait when they want advice. We are having to prioritise certain groups – the very young or elderly, those with acute illness, those in acute pain or those at end of life.

"Other patients are being asked to wait. A wait could be up to four weeks. Many would wait this long to see a dentist, solicitor or hairdresser. Prior to Covid this was not an unusual waiting time for a routine appointment.”

Staff in tears due to verbal abuse

Dr Ghalayini also revealed the reception staff faced an “unacceptable level of abuse”, leaving them in tears and even having to call the police to remove a patient.

She said: “Some individuals should feel ashamed at their behaviour and understand that the reception staff are doing their best."

‘Please support the staff that we have’

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Dr Ghalayini urged patients to support staff at the practice and recognise the hard work they are doing in a difficult situation.

She said: “The reality is that our practice cares about the service we are providing and hates letting anyone down. The reality is that our doctors and nurses chose these professions because they care about people and want to help those in need and make a difference. The same applies to the majority of back office staff who support us every day.

"The reality is that there are not enough of us doing this very important job. We are offering a lesser service than we would like as it is impossible for us to give any more than we are already giving. The reality is that the more abuse is directed at these individuals, the more likely more of them will leave the NHS and work elsewhere where they feel protected from this.

"Please support the staff that we have. Please support the staff who are staying late and taking work home with them on a daily basis because they want to help more patients than is possible in a working day. They are giving up time with their own families to try and keep a system going that is underfunded, under resourced and possibly broken in the hope that their personal contribution will help keep it going.

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"Please watch the news. See the figures about the falling number of GPs and the increasing number of surgeries that are closing down because they can’t cope with the demand. Please use our service wisely and recognise that this is not just happening in your village, it is a nationwide problem with no quick solution. If you need medical advice and have internet access the NHS 111 website is fantastic and will let you know if you ought to contact us or need to look elsewhere for help.”

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