NHS advertises remote-only GP jobs for £85 an hour amid claims doctors want ‘less and less’ to do with patients
- A work from home GP role has been advertised with a wage of £85 an hour
- The three-month contract is worth £38,000, equivalent to £154,000 a year
- It comes after postman James Dow died following a remote GP consultation
- His family called the remote GP position a ‘stupid idea’ and worrying for patients
The NHS has been accused of ‘wanting less and less’ to do with patients after it advertised a series of remote-only GP roles for £85 an hour.
The work from home job offers general practitioners a three-month contract with the chance ‘to provide online digital consultations’ via video or phone calls to patients, with pay of just under £3,000 a week or almost £13,000 a month.
It comes amid mounting evidence that ‘telemedicine’, while convenient for doctors, can be ‘disastrous’ for some patients.
The heartbroken son of a man who died after being misdiagnosed during a remote GP appointment branded the move a ‘stupid idea’.
James Dow, 61, died in his van after an ulcer on his foot ruptured following a remote GP consultation missed his symptoms
The new work from home GP role is being advertised on the NHS website with pay of £85 an hour
Postman James Dow, 61, was found dead in his delivery van in Hampshire in October 2021 after his doctor said an ulcer on his foot was gout during a telephone consultation.
The postman who died in his van after a remote GP missed his symptoms
James’ wife Nina, 54, and two sons Theo, 26, and Jamie, 23, were left devastated by the loss.
A coroner ruled that Mr Dow’s death was caused by the ruptured ulcer on his foot.
An inquest heard how his GP had told him ‘let’s go with’ a diagnosis of gout after he failed to mention discoloration and the ulcer.
His son Theo said he fears a situation like his father’s could happen again if NHS medics continue to push remote consultations.
The electrician said: ‘Remote appointments are a stupid idea, considering what happened to my dad.
‘Since Covid, there obviously were a lot less face to face appointments – and I’m sure there were many people who weren’t treated properly.
‘GPs and medical professionals have a duty of care to their patients and remote appointments will mean a lower standard of care and wrong treatment.
‘It seems that the NHS wants less and less involvement with their profession.’
The remote GP position is being offered by private company Medloop, described as ‘an NHS digital assured provider built in collaboration with primary care practitioners to best serve practical care networks and patient needs’ and advertised on the NHS jobs page.
The family and friends of Mr Dow stand with his coffin following his death in October 2021
Mr Dow’s eldest son Theo, 26, (left) said ‘Remote appointments are a stupid idea, considering what happened to my dad’
Over the three months offered, pay for the job would come to £38,675, assuming the doctor was paid for seven hours work a day and not eight.
If the GP worked in the role for a year, they could chalk up a whopping salary of around £154,000 – only £10,000 less than the PM’s salary of £164,000.
The job description states: ‘This work may include telephone triage and remote video consultation; ideal for those who are unable to attend an appointment in their own home, residential or nursing care setting.
‘We are particularly focused on work in under doctored areas, helping address inequalities in healthcare across the country,’ seeing around four patients an hour.
The job, which pays more than five times the average hourly wage in the UK, comes amid a crushing NHS crisis which has seen nurses and paramedics on strike over pay and mounting workloads within the crumbling health service.
A Band 5 nurse earns around £13.84 an hour, according to the website NHS pay.
Nurses are not supposed to deal with any more than eight patients at once, with all their work on-site, but the real figure is thought to be far higher due to the staffing crisis.
According to Payscale, the average hourly rate for someone working in the ambulance service is £11.92-per-hour.
Mounting data suggests that in many cases, remote care is sub-par to face-to-face consultations in.
An inquest heard how Mr Dow’s GP had told him ‘let’s go with’ a diagnosis of gout after he failed to mention discoloration and the ulcer
Mr Dow passed away while many surgeries were restricting face to face appointments due to Covid
One study from November 2021 ‘raised concerns that telemedicine may be over-used by the NHS and hospital management as a cost and time-saving measure, rather than being in patients’ best interests’.
The research, which looked at the role of telemedicine in treating rheumatology patients, found some 93 per cent of doctors and 86 per cent of patients rated telemedicine as ‘worse’ than face-to-face appointments.
One of the co-authors of the study Felix Naughton from the University of East Anglia, said: ‘Patients vary quite a bit in their needs and what their complaints are.
‘We found basic check in and medication renewal appointments seemed quite easy for people to do over the phone, at least for most people.
‘It’s what you would call quite basic check-ins. There was a general feeling that these were the ones that were most convenient.
‘In those sorts of circumstances, a long-term health condition that is relatively well-controlled, a remote consultation is likely to be relatively straightforward.’
However, he added: ‘People with more complex conditions, or who have undiagnosed complex conditions, particularly, there are some potential risks.
‘From our study with rheumatology patients who have quite complex conditions they might struggle to develop a trusting relationship with a practitioner which is really crucial for complex conditions, that there is that medical trust.
A convoy of Royal Mail vans (pictured above) took part in Mr Dow’s funeral procession
‘And in some cases, there were fears that it could be risky for them when they have flare ups or rapidly worsening conditions.
‘There were concerns around some patients that they might not receive a quick response to an urgent request in a rapid enough time if they were only seen remotely.
‘It might be that a GP might miss a key element of their condition because of the difficulty in communicating remotely as opposed to face-to-face.’
Professor Naughton said that although his work was conducted on rheumatology patients, there are also a number of concerns with people struggling with their mental health being offered remote appointments.
He said that people from low socio-economic groups might not benefit from telemedicine when it comes to mental health issues, as could the elderly or those with less understanding of technology or English might struggle to communicate digitally or over the phone.
The professor said: ‘Being open and enabling patients to have a say in how they communicate and maybe a good way of ensuring that people aren’t deprived as a result.’
A spokesperson for the Royal College of General Practitioners defended the role, insisting ‘good, safe and appropriate care’ can be delivered remotely.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘For years, GPs and our teams have delivered care and services in different ways, be it in person, over the phone, by video call, or even via text message and email.
‘Greater efficient use of technology in the NHS is a good thing – and good, safe and appropriate care can be delivered remotely, and many patients prefer the convenience it offers.
‘We must move away from the narrative that care delivered remotely is ‘bad’ whilst care delivered in person is ‘good’.
‘NHS general practice and different GP practices will work in different ways to ensure both appropriate in-person and remote services are available to meet the healthcare needs of their patient population – and are currently doing so in the face of intense workload and workforce pressures.’
A spokesperson for NHS England said: ‘The number of face-to-face GP appointments has been steadily growing since the start of the pandemic.
‘GPs have seen more people and delivered millions more appointments each month than ever before, with the latest data showing that in November the NHS delivered over 31 million GP appointments – an 18 per cent increase on November 2019.’
Medloop was contacted for comment.
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