‘If I could say one thing to patients…’: GPs on pay, mental health and the four ingredients that beat the flu

If you’ve ever spent your morning commute dreaming of a fresh start with your career, this feature is for you. Every Monday, we talk to someone from a different profession to find out what it’s really like. Today we speak to Dr George Howch at Fulham Medical Center in West London…

A salaried GP working full time can expect to earn… Anywhere between £80,000-£95,000, with GP partners often earning more. Locum or self-employed GPs can earn anywhere between £60 and £110 an hour.

NHS pension contributions include… 12.5% ​​employee contribution and 23.7% employer contribution. As a self-employed GP partner, I pay both employee and employer contributions.

I think the work I do is well paid but… Resident doctors are not paid properly. Young doctors now qualify with huge debts and will pay back their debts at exorbitant rates for decades, so their starting salary should take this into account.

I’m always worried about making mistakes… It’s people’s lives in my hands, but I mitigate that by making sure I ask the right questions of every patient, know exactly what they’re coming in with, eliminate red flag signs and symptoms, and protect them tightly so that if their symptoms change or improve, they know they can come back for reevaluation.

One of my biggest lessons is adapting my communication style to… More easily, take a little of my time and ask for help and feedback from colleagues in a multidisciplinary team setting.

There is no truth in old wives tales… When feeling sick, it’s really important to hydrate well, rest when needed and eat a healthy, balanced diet full of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and protein to allow the body to heal.

My go-to remedy for a cold is… Honey, lemon, ginger and paracetamol (as long as people don’t overdose on it).

You should never pay for big name brands… The active ingredients are the same in cheaper products and this is just clever marketing.

To deal with the frustration of booking an 8am appointment… Booking appointments in advance can help avoid the rush. There are a fixed number of pre-bookable (routine) appointments per week, emergency (on-the-day) appointments, and patients can book themselves using the online platform. In addition, patients can submit e-consultations through their surgeon’s website. Apothecaries can also deal with many common ailments, from sore throats to skin and urinary tract infections, insect bites, coughs, colds and allergies.

AI has its uses and many people are turning to it for medical advice but… I would be very cautious about this because it is still in its infancy, and the issue with AI is the lack of context and inability to use skills that doctors have spent years honing. It doesn’t even have the ability to empathize! As doctors we are so privileged that patients often tell us things they wouldn’t even dream of telling their loved ones and with that comes a huge responsibility and need to listen and understand – AI simply can’t do that.

I am very concerned about vaccine skepticism… A good example is measles. We had almost completely eradicated measles but due to the misinformation and gross negligence of some researchers there was a lot of fear that the MMR vaccine could cause autism. This is simply not true. Let me repeat that – this is simply not true. The published information that claimed this link has been completely debunked and removed and we are now faced with the very real possibility of measles. This condition can cause many serious long-term problems that can be completely prevented if children are vaccinated. If you are concerned, talk to your GP, health visitor or practice nurse.

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My top tip for improving a patient’s mental health is… A complete meal. exercise Hydrate well. Be equipped to deal with life’s unexpected stresses. Develop good personal relationships/friendships. Get good sleep and get some sunlight.

So many patients ask us to recommend weight loss pills and I am not against them but… They must be used in conjunction with diet and lifestyle changes for them to work effectively. This medication cannot be taken for life, nor is it designed to be. The problem is that if patients start this medication and lose weight, they often gain the weight back when they stop treatment. Every drug has side effects – this one is no different. There are many risks, ranging from pancreatitis to stomach and liver problems, visual symptoms, thyroid cancer and severe allergic reactions, so they should not be taken for granted. Having said that, they can be used safely provided the right patients use them with proper monitoring and follow-up.

If I could tell patients to do one thing, it would be… Start being more positive and have a better outlook on life. Many studies show that having a positive attitude is associated with better health outcomes – mind over matter.

One thing I hate about my job is… Administrative burden, bureaucracy and red tape. I also find it frustrating when hospital colleagues ask GPs to refer patients to other specialties instead of self-referrals – it negatively impacts the patient journey and increases my workload unnecessarily.

If I could go back and change one decision I made, it would be… Deciding not to take a gap year after my first two years of residency to explore other opportunities. As medical students and residents, we can often feel the urge to rush through training to become top doctors but every now and then it helps to re-affirm the choices we make and help us grow as people and clinicians.

We are very fortunate to have a health care system that is free to access… But we have to remember when the NHS was created life expectancy in the UK was nowhere near what it is today. People are living longer because of amazing advances and this brings challenges that must be overcome. For routine, elective cases, more work is needed to reduce waiting lists and ensure that patients receive a safe, regular, efficient and holistic service.

I strongly believe that for life and death situations, the NHS is incredibly… Despite the many challenges it faces in its current setup. Cancer care is provided to an exceptionally high standard, and acute services are essential.

If I were the Prime Minister, these are the three changes I would make…

1. Moving to a neighborhood care delivery model, in which primary and secondary care teams work closely with community services and the voluntary/charity sector, to create a sustainable health service that is tailored specifically to the needs of the local people it serves.

2. Adopt a more preventative approach to health care instead of a reactive model where we only treat diseases. Prevention will always be better than cure.

3. Improving social care services – if this is not done properly, it can actually disrupt the patient journey and create undue stress for all involved.

I wish people knew that general practice is a specialty in its own right… Doctors are not just GPs; There is a rigorous training program with a graduation exam to pass before becoming a fully qualified GP. We’re not just here to refer patients to specialists, and there’s a lot that people don’t understand. Today’s GPU is a specialist generalist.

Have an interesting career and want to participate in this series? Contact our Money Live correspondent Jessa Sharp on her email jessica.sharp@sky.uk