Comment from Jenny Willott, CEO of Re-engage.
The early morning dash to make a telephone doctor’s appointment is probably something we have all experienced – more so in recent years.
It can be frustrating being held in a queue for half an hour or so only to be told there are no more spaces available and that you should try booking online.
This may be fine if you are youngish and digitally savvy. But when you are in your eighties or nineties and find the online world somewhat alien it can be a bewildering experience at a time when all you want is to see someone face to face who can reassure you and arrange treatment.
At Re-engage we support those aged 75 and over who are lonely or isolated and in a recent survey we asked for their experiences of trying to see a doctor. With 90% of them relying on the phone or going into the surgery, it was concerning to discover that one in three said they could only book appointments online.
We know from our previous research that fewer than half (42%) of the older people we support use the internet and some of those only infrequently. Many will not go online because they fear becoming victims of fraud. Others physically can’t use a computer or laptop because of age and disability and some just find it too much of a challenge.
Our latest research report– “Care on Hold”– paints a bleak picture for many older people who struggle to get a doctor’s appointment, with some left feeling they are a number not a patient. One 92-year-old woman told us the astonishing story of resorting to DIY treatment – cutting out a lump on her wrist with a Stanley knife at home – after becoming so frustrated with the system.
There are also others who, having failed to connect with their surgery, call the NHS 111 helpline or go to their nearest Accident and Emergency department, so increasing pressure on our already over-burdened health service.
The obstacles to seeing a GP often result in older people feeling disconnected from society which increases their isolation and loneliness. And with many having very little contact with other humans it’s easy to understand their frustration and plight. In simple terms, their care is on hold.
To understand just how bad the problem is we sent a Freedom of Information request to Integrated Care Boards. Not all responded but of those that did, 81% in England said telephone and in person GP bookings were still available, which, as I have explained, is somewhat at odds to what we discovered. And with the NHS’s latest ten-year plan- “Fit for the Future”– to make the service fully digital there is a real concern that many older people will be left behind.
So, what can be done about this increasingly problematic situation?
Of course, we understand health services have to keep pace with a rapidly developing technical world, but not at the expense of a vulnerable section of our society.
So, we are calling on government to guarantee that; telephone and in-person booking systems will remain and that this is written into doctors’ contracts; older people should be consulted when new health policies and services are mooted and consistent data on GP access must be published.
With these assurances, we believe the physical and mental health of our older people will improve so keeping loneliness at bay and they will no longer have to consider risky remedies such as kitchen surgery.
*Re-engage has just celebrated its 60th anniversary. Last year it supported 6,600 older people aged 75 and over who are lonely or isolated through its volunteer-led monthly tea parties, activity groups and call befriending services- all free and never-ending. The charity was started in1965 by philanthropist and lawyer, Trevor Lyttleton MBE and has a presence in hundreds of cities towns and villages throughout the UK.