Recent NHS figures suggest that 56% of residents in the town were
not offered a choice of time or date for their appointment, and six in ten did
not get a same-day appointment with a GP.
44% of people in Crawley find it difficult to
get through to their practice by phone, and 23% of people in town described the
experience of booking a GP appointment as poor.
The new report comes from Medicspot, a digital health company
hoping to put an end to the wait in Crawley by allowing doctors to perform
remote examinations using equipment operated by the patient.
This new initiative allows doctors to listen to
a patient’s heart and lungs, look into their ears and throat, and take their
vitals including blood pressure, oxygen levels and body temperature – all
without needing to be in the same room.
Dr Zubair Ahmed, Co-founder of Medicspot, says:
“In light of these figures, we hope our service will offer a convenient alternative for people in Crawley and help ease some of the pressures the NHS is facing.
“Longer wait times lead to more strain on an already struggling NHS. When patients are forced to wait weeks to see a GP, they often end up waiting for hours at A&E”, Dr Ahmed explains.
A national survey of patients who have used the
new service revealed 40% of respondents would have gone to accident and
emergency if they didn’t use Medicspot – generating a £1.2 million saving for
the NHS.
This saving comes after news A&E waiting
times have hit the worst level on record, with one in six patients waiting more
than 4 hours and warnings that patients are about to endure one of the bleakest
winters in NHS history.
Medicspot is already available in over 250
pharmacies across the UK, where patients pay £39 for a same-day GP
consultation. The company plans to bring the service to pharmacies across
Crawley early next year.
While the majority of Medicspot patients are
comfortable operating the equipment themselves, a trained pharmacist is always
available for those who need help.
The full report from Medicspot is available
online at https://www.medicspot.co.uk/reports/gp-report-2019.