A news article today has highlighted the already well publicised issue of a lack of GPs to see patients for routine and emergency appointments. Wait times of over three weeks are not uncommon and triage services are often placed in the hands of reception staff who, whilst trained, are not medically qualified. A major factor in this is that numbers of GPs overall are falling and increasing numbers of GPs are working shorter hours. 

 

As a result, all staff at GP practices are under ever increasing pressure with one GP, Dr Andrew Dharman, confirming that it is not necessarily possible to provide the kind of care you want because of the workload. This is another example and explanation of how incidences of medical negligence can occur. Your GP is often the first port-of-call for any kind of illness and we trust that their advice, treatment or any referral will be the correct one. Unfortunately, the lack of time permitted for each appointment, or delays in actually having an appointment, can lead to a delayed, incorrect or missed diagnosis or treatment which in turn can lead to worsening illness or prolonged recovery. Any wrong diagnosis given, should the same cause your illness to become worse, is a personal injury that, in the eyes of the law, constitutes negligence and you are therefore at liberty to pursue a claim for damages, through your local personal injury solicitor, against the relevant NHS Trust, or private doctor’s surgery.