HOW SAFE ARE OUR GP PRACTICES during covid-19?  For the health care professionals, their patients, and families of patients? 

I'm a 65-yr old diabetic needing routine B12 injections.  

My GP tells me to turn up as normal so I don't develop neurological problems. 

I don't think anyone in the practice has been tested for covid-19.

I'm refusing to turn up since I suspect the GP practice to be a covid-19 hot-spot.  I don't want to transmit this virus to my frail, elderly asthmatic husband who's undergone cancer treatment and a lot of surgery.   

I've persuaded the GP to give me a precription for oral B12.

Have I done the right thing? 

How can I help GPs and patients in far worse dilemmas than mine?

 

Think I’d do the same! Need a clinician’s input here @Claire Cox what do you think?

Sadly, I am not a GP.... I have tweeted this post out in the hope of getting some responses back.

I think there is a real urgency for guidance and reassurance to patients about when and who to call for help from at this time.  We are also seeing a reduction in the amount of people attending ED...where are the 'usual' sick patients, the GI bleeds, the strokes.....I do hope they are not dying at home.

Thanks very much for your comments. 

It's hard to balance conflicting serious risks where information is missing.

Maybe patients could have the option of learning on-line to do their own routine injections and so protect health-care professionals and the general public?

Or maybe army medics could support the district nurses who are needed to care for the seriously ill housebound? 

Above all we need covid-19 testing for ALL health-care workers to reassure patients that GP practices are safe.  

A small update on routine GP-surgery blood tests and injections during COVID-19. 

Some very good local news from Bath and Swindon.

My local GP services are soon to organise 'hot' and 'cold' GP practices.  This means that the risk to presumably covid-19-free patients of picking up the virus and spreading it to their household will be much reduced.  

So for example, I can have my routine B12 jab without a high risk of picking up the virus that's killing people locally and spreading it to a vulnerable asthmatic recovering from cancer. 

Well done our local NHS!