Letter to Gordon

12th April 2010
10 Downing St
London

Dear Mr Brown,

You said today in the manifesto launch press briefing that you would make sure everyone has access to a GP, but you must be aware that since the salary of a five year trained Family Doctor is now the same as that of a fully qualified six year trained GP there are very few GPs around.
Last year I found out the hard way that this village has no NHS GPs when I phoned the local surgery asking for the usual treatment for a flare up of my chronic medical condition. I needed two injections as I had received years before on two occasions, always from one of my local GPs. The receptionist said they don’t do injections. I asked to speak to a doctor and she too said that they do not do injections. A doctor called to my house and refused to deliver any treatment because as a family doctor she is not trained to do that. I was not well enough to drive to the hospital and I do not believe calling for a paramedic would bring a fully trained doctor to my home.
So I got no treatment and the flare up was still raging and active when I reported to Moorfield’s Eye Hospital for a cataract operation the following week - it is too dangerous to operate in those conditions so I was sent home without it. Operation cancelled.
I checked, it is true that no doctors at the local surgery are fully qualified GPs so I switched to another surgery in another village who do. But they not do home visits to this village. NICE guidelines clearly say that I was right to ask for those two injections to be delivered in the home environment immediately by a qualified doctor. But under Labour I do not have access to a GP, and neither do the vast majority of British taxpayers living in Britain today - we only have Family Doctors.
Under a Conservative government I had a GP, under Labour I do not. Under a Conservative government I would not still have a cataract, under Labour I do.
You are still in office and depriving me from access to a GP. Do something about that immediately by ruling that all doctors surgeries must have at least one fully qualified GP on the staff and on call.
There is one fully qualified GP in this village but they are for private patients only. If I have another flare up should I phone them and have the taxpayer funded government pick up and pay the bill?

Yours sincerely,