"Care providers or gatekeepers?"

I have several serious health conditions that require ongoing care and impede my day to day functioning significantly. I thought they might qualify me for a COVID vaccine, so I messaged my GP about this. They denied me an appointment on the basis that I was not on an automated list of patients. They said that was the criteria for eligibility. I was suspicious of the reason they gave, so out of curiosity I read up the specific government guidelines. I was very disheartened to have my suspicions confirmed: they guidelines featured no such narrow criteria, and in fact quite clearly included my conditions. I emailed my GP about this, but never received an answer.

The reason I felt like sharing this is because unfortunately it feels representative of my experience with this practice. Too often it seems that my GP understands themselves as a gatekeeper of medical care (in this case with bogus reasons). Instead their role should be that of a care provider that looks after me. I’m a member of a minority that statistically faces inequalities in healthcare Provision. I often fear that I won’t receive the care I need, and therefore end up with worse health outcomes.