Yeh, the trouble is that it is our pts who are suffering with tooth ache,
we are the softees, I think the dentists are hard. Its business and I can
see thats the way its all going, along with the compassion and the
vocation. :-(
Does your bruv feel OK about the sit'n though?
BW's
John Perkins
GP
Exeter


> Subject: Re: The reason we're f***ed
> Date: 11 April 1998 00:13
> 
> In a message dated 10/04/98 07:37:51 GMT, John Perkins writes:
> 
> << Hi, 
>  Can you ask your brother what his terms of NHS service are, ie what
hours
>  per he is obliged to be available for his patients? >>
> 
> John, we're in the wrong job! :-(
> He doesn't have to be available for a specific number of hours. He simply
has
> to provide 24hour emergency cover for his patients. And he doesn't have
to
> respond to emergencies that quickly either. E.g. if a patient with acute
> dental pain called at one in the morning, a "reasonable" response might
be to
> make an urgent appt. for the patient at the surgery later that morning.
> 
> <<I always tell my pts to phone their dentist immediately and ask for a
same
> day appt ->>
> 
> Round our way it seems that patients who do this are told that there are
no
> appts. left and bounce back to us. Is it any wonder that they come
knocking on
> our door first? :-((
> 
> <<thing is many pts don't actually know what to do! ie that they
> can use their dentist for dental problems>>
> 
> in my experience they don't realise their dentist can prescribe
antibiotics
> and analgesics. It really p*ss*s me off when patients are told by their
> dentist to get a script for antibiotics from their doctor to control the
> facial swelling from an abscess before the dentist will see them.
> Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
> Often patients seek emergency treatment from their dentist after they
have not
> been  for several years. They don't realise that they are not entitled to
it
> because they haven't kept up their registration; they must do this every
> fifteen months I think, so these patients come to us or A/E. IMHO the
dental
> profession has only paid lip service to the concept of OOH treatment of
> patients. Until they sort themselves out, the medical profession will
continue
> to act as unpaid dentists.
> 
> Bruv. and I have a heated debate about this every so often. 
> 
> All the best
> 
> Jeremy Sager
> GP
> Leeds 


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