MADAM - You really couldn’t make it up!

Deborah Harkins, Chief Officer for Health and Wellbeing, suggesting that GPs receptionists should be trained to give advice to prospective patients ‘to enable that patient to make a decision to what service they require as they may not need to see their GP’.

May I ask which planet this woman is from?

No doubt she is hoping that this madcap scheme will promote her employment

advancement.

I really cannot believe that a person with such a responsibility could make such

an error of judgement.

If I am a patient I want to see my GP - a GP that has undertaken some seven years of intensive training.

I do not wish to disclose my reasons for wishing to see my GP to clerks/telephonists/Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all!! Whoever they are and whatever so called five minute training they may have had.

Since time immemorial the Doctor/Patient bond of confidentiality has been

a valued and important part of our health system.

These proposals would undermine and indeed ruin that important bond.

With respect, may I suggest that Ms Harkins either looks for alternative employment or at least re-training as she is obviously unfit for this post.

Stuart Fox

Halesowen