General Random Conversation..

[Gemmill 47056]

Dave you could just post yours and your wife's full NHS record if you like. 

[Holden McGroin 6918]

GPs are just referrers. There is no way they can retain information for every illness/injury. I expect them to be replaced by robots/AI in the near future as the first line..

 

I've had a GP Google something when in the room with them.

Edited yesterday at 09:45 by Holden McGroin

[The Fish 11071]

6 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

Dave you could just post yours and your wife's full NHS record if you like. 

Don't tempt me. 

 

 

[Renton 22401]

48 minutes ago, Holden McGroin said:

GPs are just referrers. There is no way they can retain information for every illness/injury. I expect them to be replaced by robots/AI in the near future as the first line..

 

I've had a GP Google something when in the room with them.

 

I know several GPs who would happily kill you for this comment. 

Fwiw, GPs have a highly skilled job and are an absolutely critical part of the NHS (although to be pedantic, they are outwith the NHS). They can deal with 80% of your health problems. Yes, they are also gatekeepers which is an important role also. No, they don't know everything. But they know where to find information and will be able to correctly interpret a Google result. If they don't, they risk being struck off. 

Nevertheless, like everything else, there are good and bad GPs, and like everybody else, they have off days. But overall, hats off to them. Can you even imagine seeing 20 to 30 patients a day, with all sorts of conditions, doing physical exams, admin, etc? No fucking way would I do it.  

[ewerk 31587]

Anyone prepared to stick their finger up Gemmill's balloon knot has my respect.

[Holden McGroin 6918]

21 minutes ago, Renton said:

 

I know several GPs who would happily kill you for this comment. 

Fwiw, GPs have a highly skilled job and are an absolutely critical part of the NHS (although to be pedantic, they are outwith the NHS). They can deal with 80% of your health problems. Yes, they are also gatekeepers which is an important role also. No, they don't know everything. But they know where to find information and will be able to correctly interpret a Google result. If they don't, they risk being struck off. 

Nevertheless, like everything else, there are good and bad GPs, and like everybody else, they have off days. But overall, hats off to them. Can you even imagine seeing 20 to 30 patients a day, with all sorts of conditions, doing physical exams, admin, etc? No fucking way would I do it.  

 

Aye, they get undue stick IMO. I genuinely don't expect them to know everything and they do offer decent first line support (if you can ever get an appointment). I still think that first line will be dealt with AI eventually though and they'll become second line.

 

My Mrs who works in A&E is rarely complimentary about them though, as all they do send patients to them that aren't emergencies. That might well have something to do with the flow of patient care or lack of in the NHS but they just wash their hands and then pass them to A&E (like a lot of others eg mental health etc end up in A&E)

 

 

[wykikitoon 21475]

A couple of the lads in the club are GP's.  One has said one of the biggest things is listening to someone and then putting them at ease, which I 100% get.  That's why they wont be replaced with AI as they don't have that compassion.

When I pissed blood I went through all sorts of tests to rule out things.  They were adamant it was just a UTI but that's rare in blokes, especially at my age.  Anyways, a few months after I was still anxious about stuff and then me old man passed.  A few months after that I was certain I felt a lump and went and got a GP appointment, I sat and spoke with them and they really did put me at ease.  It's them little bits AI (at the moment) cannot do.

 

I have a mate who is also a consultant in A&E, he volunteers on the YAA and his wife is a GP.  He's always having sly dig's at here about how she could have got a proper medical job is she was better at uni  

[Renton 22401]

10 minutes ago, Holden McGroin said:

 

Aye, they get undue stick IMO. I genuinely don't expect them to know everything and they do offer decent first line support (if you can ever get an appointment). I still think that first line will be dealt with AI eventually though and they'll become second line.

 

My Mrs who works in A&E is rarely complimentary about them though, as all they do send patients to them that aren't emergencies. That might well have something to do with the flow of patient care or lack of in the NHS but they just wash their hands and then pass them to A&E (like a lot of others eg mental health etc end up in A&E)

 

 

 

I think part of it is they are using algorithms which if they need to stick to for litiginous reasons. My mum has insane blood pressure. Lots of times she has been to see them, because it is potentially catastrophically high, she gets sent to Cramlington or the RVI which ends up being a day out of my life. Gets all the scans, then released and back to square one. We just refuse now.

Similarly for MH I imagine anyone with suicidal ideation is sent off to secondary care in short order. Talking of which, when I was on the metro this morning a woman nearly threw herself in front of the train. The driver stopped and located her and she was in a right state "I just want to die...". Nice way to start my first office day of the year.

[Renton 22401]

4 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

A couple of the lads in the club are GP's.  One has said one of the biggest things is listening to someone and then putting them at ease, which I 100% get.  That's why they wont be replaced with AI as they don't have that compassion.

When I pissed blood I went through all sorts of tests to rule out things.  They were adamant it was just a UTI but that's rare in blokes, especially at my age.  Anyways, a few months after I was still anxious about stuff and then me old man passed.  A few months after that I was certain I felt a lump and went and got a GP appointment, I sat and spoke with them and they really did put me at ease.  It's them little bits AI (at the moment) cannot do.

 

I have a mate who is also a consultant in A&E, he volunteers on the YAA and his wife is a GP.  He's always having sly dig's at here about how she could have got a proper medical job is she was better at uni  

 

We have AI already in 111. That's a script. Its useless. We're a long way from robot GPs who can do physical exams even before you consider the compassion but. 99% of jobs will be gone to AI before GPs are. 

[wykikitoon 21475]

Aye I forgot about 111.

I had a rash in early Nov and instead of going to my GP, I went to the pharmacy (who are very good) and they gave me a cream and it went within a few days.  I think if more people were able to use the pharmacy for stuff like this, the better.  Any little bits of pressure we can take off the GP's, especially this time of year, the better.

[Renton 22401]

8 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

Aye I forgot about 111.

I had a rash in early Nov and instead of going to my GP, I went to the pharmacy (who are very good) and they gave me a cream and it went within a few days.  I think if more people were able to use the pharmacy for stuff like this, the better.  Any little bits of pressure we can take off the GP's, especially this time of year, the better.

 

True in theory, but have you seen the state of pharmacies recently? About half have closed, massively increasing demand on those remaining. They get paid a pittance to do this vital support work. And they now have to spend half their time chasing drug suppliers partly due to Brexit. That's another profession I nearly entered and now think thank fuck I didn't. 

[wykikitoon 21475]

I think I am lucky as my local one is brilliant.  Great stuff who have to deal with so much.  When I go in for my meds, whilst waiting you get all sorts coming in and giving them grief.

[Gemmill 47056]

1 hour ago, ewerk said:

Anyone prepared to stick their finger up Gemmill's balloon knot has my respect.

 

I made that bloke's Christmas. Warmest, cosiest pig in blanket ever. 

[Gemmill 47056]

32 minutes ago, Renton said:

 

I think part of it is they are using algorithms which if they need to stick to for litiginous reasons. My mum has insane blood pressure. Lots of times she has been to see them, because it is potentially catastrophically high, she gets sent to Cramlington or the RVI which ends up being a day out of my life. Gets all the scans, then released and back to square one. We just refuse now.

Similarly for MH I imagine anyone with suicidal ideation is sent off to secondary care in short order. Talking of which, when I was on the metro this morning a woman nearly threw herself in front of the train. The driver stopped and located her and she was in a right state "I just want to die...". Nice way to start my first office day of the year.

 

I fucking told you it was best to work from home. 

[NJS 4446]

Most GPs are fine - I'd take them over consultants any day - the worst human being I've ever met was a consultant I was sent to 35 years ago for a suspected ulcer - the man had a god complex the size of the fucking universe. 

[Dazzler 10800]

1 hour ago, NJS said:

Most GPs are fine - I'd take them over consultants any day - the worst human being I've ever met was a consultant I was sent to 35 years ago for a suspected ulcer - the man had a god complex the size of the fucking universe. 

The consultant I had to see for a severe bleed in my bowel a few years back was a complete weapon too. He was more arsed about proving himself right than my wellbeing. He never found out what was causing it and eventually whatever it was just healed itself and I hope it still bothers him that he couldn’t diagnose me with crohns or colitis - so I guess I’m just as big a prick as him in reality

 

His boss was absolutely class tbf. She had all of his knowledge and none of his ego.

[ewerk 31587]

On 08/01/2025 at 13:28, Meenzer said:

 

I still like Insta for sharing travel/hiking pics and seeing what friends are up to without having to engage in actual conversation (you know what I mean ), but then I hardly see anything on there I don't want to. 

 

That was nice for you while it lasted.

 

[Meenzer 15839]

I mean, obviously I'm also delighted about their new rules that say hate speech is specifically OK if it's against queer people. This fucking decade, I swear.  

[Renton 22401]

What a shitein cunt Zuckerberg is. And Bezos. All that dosh and still won't stand up to Trump and Musk.

 

This is the only social media I do. Bit of an echo chamber but I genuinely feel I know and respect the regulars on here. I love the independence of the site, the in jokes, the camaraderie. Waste enough time here as it is.

Got to say the latest moves to remove fact checking scres me a lot. That, along with deep fakes, means we are living in an truth free World. That's a bit problematic for me because I think truth is THE most important thing there is. I don't believe democratic society can function without truth. What value is a vote based on lies? We had it with Brexit and its been getting worse ever since. Now it's going exponential. What Jenrick and Badenoch have said and haven't said this week would have been unimaginable just years ago, I want to, but I no longer see a way out of this. I'm not going to bury my head in the sand like Gemmill. My eyes are wide open as the ship goes down. 

Edited 21 hours ago by Renton

[Rayvin 5572]

30 minutes ago, Renton said:

My eyes are wide open as the ship goes down. 

 

Yes, I think in heart of hearts, I'm going to be right there with you.

[Kid Dynamite 7312]

7 hours ago, The Fish said:

Re: GPs I think it's hit and miss. I can get appointments no problem but sometimes the Doctor I get is fucking useless. The littlest one was shuddering when she was feeding, so we took her to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Doctor's honest-to-god reaction was a dismissive "Well, what do you want?"

 Diagnosis - anxious parents

 

We've all been there!

[Kid Dynamite 7312]

7 hours ago, Holden McGroin said:

GPs are just referrers. There is no way they can retain information for every illness/injury. I expect them to be replaced by robots/AI in the near future as the first line..

 

I've had a GP Google something when in the room with them.

Sorry to break it to you, but every Doctor in the world will google stuff. You should

be reassured that they are checking out the evidence base before making a decision. 

[The Fish 11071]

5 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

 Diagnosis - anxious parents

 

We've all been there!

 

Too right. 

 

Haven't been to the GP half as much as we did for the first though. so... there's growth I guess.

[Billy Whitehurst 959]

1 hour ago, ewerk said:

 

That was nice for you while it lasted.

 

I’m not on Instagram but I would assume that it relies on advertising revenues like Twitter does?

 

Musk has absolutely fucked Twitter and the advertising revenues have dropped massively.

 

I would assume/hope that the same will happen to Instagram when that becomes a total fucking cesspit like Twitter.

[Dazzler 10800]

2 hours ago, Meenzer said:

I mean, obviously I'm also delighted about their new rules that say hate speech is specifically OK if it's against queer people. This fucking decade, I swear.  

I genuinely thought you were kidding and then I googled it. Fucking hell man that is beyond fucking disgusting

 

 

For reference this is the only time they’ll allow people to call someone mentally ill. 
 

There is zero difference between this and twitter now. Glad I’m off the lot.