Primary Care During the Pandemic

Primary Care During the Pandemic (From Slap, To Clap, To Slap Harder), is the second non-fiction book by Joni Martins.

How did the pandemic affect primary care in the UK?

Before the pandemic, there was a steady increase in complaints and abuse towards medical and reception staff. Just like in many other public services.

Then the pandemic hit and a new sense of solidarity and a feeling of ‘we’re all in this together’ surfaced.

However, this was not to last.

Soon, the government and media reported on how GPs stopped patients from seeing them face-to-face when they had been told by NHS England to see people face-to-face.

Hello? Where did that come from?

NHS England maintained throughout the pandemic, and especially still at the time these reports surfaced, that where this was possible patients should receive care remotely rather than face-to-face. There had been no guidance to tell them to see patients face-to-face again.

However, throughout the pandemic, surgeries continued to see patients face-to-face whenever the clinicians deemed this necessary despite being instructed to work remotely. They didn’t consider it safe not to.

Still, this led to an increase in complaints and abuse from patients who felt hard done by and believed the rhetoric in the media. They believed they should receive more care than they did.

And now? Now we’re in a situation where the abuse against GP surgeries and those working there (and in many other public sectors) is at an all-time high. Complaints have doubled compared to before the pandemic.

This book still is in the editing stages and it will likely take a while before it will be available on the shelves at Amazon.

Get in touch