DMC

[indiepanda]

I go to a private GP most of the time too - costs me ?150 for a year's worth of appointments which has turned out to be a bargain.

They are based in one of the offices in my company, so a few minutes walk from my desk, can always get an appointment for the next day, sometimes same day, you get a 15 minute slot, so they very rarely run late.

I only use DMC if I am too sick to get to work, which is not that often.

[Jeremy]

My experience is similar to MrBen's - gave up with Melbourne Grove because of the silly phone consultations and lack of actual doctors. DMC was good at first, but the waiting times have become absurd. I'm going to have to sign up with a private GP in the city - I feel I've been left with no other choice.

"Thank God for the NHS"?? You must be joking.

[Penguin68]

GPs are contracted to the NHS (if they are 'NHS' GPs) but are independent and private contractors - they either themselves own (or themselves rent) their premises, employ their staff (although Health Visitors and District Nurses if based in a GP practice are PCT employed - unlike practice nurses, who are employed by the GP) and are entirely free (within the constraints of the law and their contract with the NHS) to act as they wish.

Numbers of GP practice owners employ doctors/ locums to work for them nowadays, and do not pay them the sorts of sums (?150,000+) which you read about when you hear of 'GP' incomes. ?40,000- ?60,000 is more normal pay for younger ?salaried? GPs. The days of a group of (legal) partners working together in a practice are now beginning to pass. When GPs retire they may sell-on their practice (or their partnership share) to other doctors.

GPs are regulated by their own trades-union (the BMA) and, although they may have their contracts withdrawn by a PCT (I suppose, I have never heard of it happening) normally they are removed from practicing by their trades-union, generally for medical incompetence or inappropriate behaviour. They are not ?struck-off? for being poor or inefficient businessmen (although they might be for out-and-out fraud).

As far as GP services are concerned, the NHS has very much arms-length involvement here (via the PCTs) - GPs' freedom of action is far larger than doctors directly employed by the Health Service in hospitals.

[LadyShip]

i have the same problem...used to be such a good Dr's and the new phone system seems harder to get through than the last!

[Sue]

Jeremy Wrote:

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>

> "Thank God for the NHS"?? You must be joking.

xxxxxxx

No, I'm not joking.

I can't afford private healthcare (and don't believe in it anyway) and on the whole I've got nothing but praise for the treatment I've had on the NHS (apart from the "consultant" accompanied by a load of students who diagnosed a ruptured ovarian cyst/peritonitis as food poisoning ...... but private healthcare doesn't exactly have a great record on things like that, either)

Would you rather we did away with the NHS and had a system like they do in the States?

The NHS (and education) started to deteriorate in this country when income tax was reduced in order to gain votes for the Tories, in my opinion. What did people think their tax was being used for, FFS?

ETA: Sorry for the rant, I'm ill :) As you were .....

[Jeremy]

I don't really believe in private healthcare either, and have received frankly brilliant service from the NHS for most of my life. But when both of the local medical practises I've tried have become completely dysfunctional, it does start to feel like the system isn't really working.

[brain_opera]

If you're talking about DMC and/or Melbourne Grove, both of those are privately managed.

[Sue]

brain_opera Wrote:

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> If you're talking about DMC and/or Melbourne

> Grove, both of those are privately managed.

xxxxx

But the treatment is on the NHS - at least, I haven't been paying for it in all the years I've been going there .....

[heber jumble queen]

As Penguin68 has already explained - ALL gps are privately managed. They have contracts with the NHS, but they are not NHS employees - all GP practices operate as private businesses.

[Jeremy]

I know GPs are privately managed, that is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Even if services are fulfilled by private companies, the government should be ensuring that they are capable of delivering an acceptable level of service.