Giving your GP a ring can save you a trip

Margaret Jennings finds a phonecall to a GP can save a trip

ARE you a parent who dreads the morning wake-up and the frantic ushering of your children out the door ? If so, then you are among more than half (55%) of parents surveyed recently who said that period was the most hectic part of their day.

Add to that hustle-and-bustle schedule a sick child, and the busy routine gets totally disrupted, especially if you need to include a visit the GP.

The results of the survey, carried out by health insurance company GloHealth, also found 48% of parents admitted that things just don’t go to plan with their children at least a few times a week and 57% said they go to work in a sleep-deprived state regularly.

With such a scenario painted of daily life for parents it’s no surprise that 93% of them said they would utilise a phone /video advisory GP service such as GloDoc, which has been launched by GloHealth with the support of Dr Nina Byrnes, of TV3’s Doctor in the House fame.

“As a GP myself I would spend about an hour a day on the phone giving advice to patients and on follow-ups and consultations,” says Dr Byrnes.

“So I suppose for the GloHealth customers it will be reassuring to know they have access to a doctor 24/7 rather than getting up and going out to the out-of-hours service — if they get enough advice over the phone to hold them until they get to their doctor the next day.”

“As a GP it was engrained into me the importance of an examination for diagnosis. But there are certain things that you can give advice over the phone for.

“If a parent is worried because a child has mild diarrhoea for example, then advice such as giving fluids and watching for dehydration is beneficial and and obviously if parents access that kind of advice, it might prevent a parent having to go out to the doctor.”

That phonecall may dictate for instance how the morning schedule will go for frazzled parents. Dr Byrnes herself knows what it can be like: “I have three kids aged 13, 11 and two and I know what it takes to organise to get the children out of the house.

“And if you have one child sick and you’re at home and on your own, you have to bring all three of them.

“As GPs we don’t always run to time and its as stressful for us as the parents in the waiting room.”

Top tips

The GlowHealth survey of parents also showed:

• 60% said their children are sometimes or always anxious visiting the GP.
• 36% of parents are reluctant to visit the GP due to waiting times.
• More than half are concerned about spreading or picking up germs in the waiting room.
• 38% felt that it is a stressful or arduous task to bring children to the GP when they are ill.
• 93% would use a phone or video GP service for advice.