Shrpdoc supported me after major surgery, when my GP was unable to help. It was very encouraging to speak to a local doctor who understood local issues.
It has taken a generation for Shropdoc to craft a high quality bespoke service because of the complexity of rurality. It is a not for profit organization and lower bids would almost certainly have to reduce the quality to an unsafe inadequate level and/or return a year later to ask for more money when they have eliminated the competition with a deceitful bid. This is what seemed to happen with Kernowdoc in Cornwall a few years ago.
It has been so good that it has played a significant role in absorbing excess demand from regular daytime services and has always prioritized good clinical care. There was a fiasco when the Tory government introduced NHS111 which collapsed within hours of opening. Despite having had to make the relevant staff redundant Shropdoc graciously stepped in instantly to keep a service running because of its patient centered attitude.
Losing Shropdoc is a false economy. Spending will not reduce and the pressures will show in other areas like daytime GP services, A&E, social services. This will probably work through in time to be an issue locally at the next election!!
This service has always been outstanding when ever we have needed to use it.The right informative and decisive outcome for the patient in real time.Not ignored,not put in a queue that goes nowhere or dismissed as not that important.Your health is your number one issue and Shrop Doc treats each patient as the most important.That is how your concerns should be dealt with by all NHS departments but are not.
Shropdoc is an invaluable service and very much appreciated. We got lots of help for them when my mum and I were nursing my terminally ill elderly father at home during 2019.
Also, as I live far away from my mum in Shropshire, it is a resource o know she can access quickly and easily if needed.
They were invaluable to our family last year when my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer and attended to him in a very professional way when called out in the night