THE QUEEN’S former doctor has called for an end to “unsafe” virtual GP consultations by default.
Sir Richard Thompson was the former president of The Royal College of Physicians. He said that online assessments no longer need to be done now that everyone is vaccinated.
2
He called for “as many as possible” in-person appointments, days after Greater Manchester’s senior coroner ruled lack of face-to-face medical care had contributed to at least five deaths.
As chairman of the Royal College of GPs, Sir Richard insisted that doctors would still be able to keep almost half of all appointments online.
He said: “As a doctor seeing a patient in person can give you vital clinical cues. This could be their manner of walking in the room, how they shake hands and how they look.
“It is sad so many appointments have gone online because you can miss important health information you cannot get from a virtual consultation and this can be unsafe.
I understand that younger people have less time and money, so they may be willing to use an online private GP service even if it is just a repeat prescription.
“However, for many people, especially those who are older or with multiple health problems, this can be problematic.”
He added: “I don’t think the excuse of Covid is now justified.
“Doctors have now had the vaccine, their risks are very low. There has always been a risk that doctors can pick up infections such as hepatitis B, or TB in the past, patients do transmit sometimes but it should be an accepted part of the job.”
The chairman of the Royal College of GP’s, Prof Martin Marshall, insisted that there would be a mix of face-to-face and remote consultations.
2