Dad Sets Up New Service To Help Families Access Immediate Health Advice

During the past year, the United Kingdom has been in complete lock down to try and help prevent the spread of the Covid 19 virus. This is spread through social contact so if any place in the public area becomes too crowded, there is more chance that the virus will spread from person to person. It is because of this that the government introduced social distancing measures to help prevent the spread of the virus. At first it was only considered safe for people to be out and about when they could have 2m social distancing between themselves and others but later on, the guidance was changed so that in places where people could not be 2metres apart, they would be allowed to be 1 metre + apart with extra restrictions such as face masks etc.

Due to this, it meant that people were told not to attend their doctors surgeries unless completely necessary. This was due to the fact that waiting rooms in doctor's surgeries can become extremely crowded and therefore be good places where the virus could spread from person to person. Instead of attending GP surgeries straight away, people were encouraged to try and get phone or online consultations with their doctor to discuss their symptoms. The doctor would then decide on the most appropriate course of action to take i.e. would the patient have to come in to the surgery for a more thorough examination or could treatment be prescribed on the phone or online.

A dad fed up of wasted trips to A&E and long waits for doctors to see his young daughter has launched a new online GP service.

Andrew Bretherton launched Quick Doctors (https://quickdoctors.co.uk/) as an option for families who need immediate medical reassurance. He also wanted to offer an alternative service for those who didn't want to add to their GP's workload during the Covid crisis.

It followed reports that people were sometimes putting off seeing a doctor to avoid bothering them, potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment for serious conditions.

"We are not trying to replace the GP service, but we wanted to offer an alternative option to help ease the pressure on the NHS and give people reassurance when they needed it," he said.

Andrew, 39, of Leamington Spa, said the real driver to launch Quick Doctors came when he had a number of trips to A&E with his three-year-old daughter Lola.

Out of a total of three trips to A&E, on the first two occasions she was told that she just needed an over the counter remedy so on these occasions the problem could have easily been dealt with on the phone or online. However on the third occasion, she had to be rushed to intensive care where she could receive treatment for the condition she was suffering from.

 “If we had put that off and slept on it, which we could have done after the first two visits, it might have been a different story.”

"It turned out she had a chest infection and her oxygen levels had dipped. She was close to contracting pneumonia. They kept her in for checks, but luckily, we caught it in time and she recovered quite quickly. It was such a worrying time."

On another occasion, Andrew, his wife and daughter were away for a short break when she began to feel unwell. She was screaming and crying in pain which made her parents extremely worried. They had to ring 111 to get advice on what was the most appropriate course of action to take. A doctor came out to see them five hours later but it still left them having a sleepless night with plenty of worry and panic. The problem could have been diagnosed much more easily and quicker over a video call which would have saved everyone a lot of worry, panic and stress.

Following the successful launch of a well-being app for employers called Skype Well being, Andrew decided to split that off as a stand-alone service,

particularly when he heard news that people were avoiding contacting GPs during the Covid crisis to avoid adding pressure.

A recent Cancer Research and Cardiff University study suggested almost half of people who had potential cancer symptoms in the first wave of the pandemic did not contact their GP. People gave a variety of reasons for putting off seeking medical help, including not wanted to burden the NHS.

Andrew said: "I was shocked when I heard this. It is vital for these conditions to be spotted and treated early.

"People just think GPs have enough on their plates at the moment and they don't want to add to their workload. Plus Covid has made everything so difficult. If you have kids you can't just put them in the car and drive to an appointment and you can't get babysitters.

"We wanted to offer something that would help people straight away, offering a same day appointment, just to take away that panic and worry and make life a little easier. We wanted to offer a little peace of mind."

The new service called Quick Doctors has access to a wide variety of trained GP's who can help assist, treat and diagnose people with their health conditions and ailments. There is also access to NHS staff who may be working overtime along with private doctors. It costs £9.99 a month for a personal plan and £14.99 for a family plan, but there is no contract and can be cancelled at any time.

Find out more at https://quickdoctors.co.uk/