No wonder you can't get a GP appointment

[Intherightplace]

Currently all first GP appointments at our surgery are telephone. Which is OK for most things, even good, more efficient for both GP and patient. However, for some things a telephone appointment is never going to be any use. For example, if I'd been able to explain to "someone" that I needed an appointment for a dodgy looking mole, surely they could have seen that a face to face appointment was necessary?

Anyway, I waited 3 weeks for my telephone appointment. GP said she couldn't do anything by phone and she'd need to see me (like it was my fault, I hadn't seen her!). So that's one completely wasted appointment.

10 days later I had the f2f appointment. Buzzed the door, not allowed in before they've checked you out. Receptionist said she'd tell doctor I was there. 10 mins later the doctor herself came to collect me from the door. Now this is a large medical practice, it's a fairly long walk, involving 2 flights of stairs and she was wearing heels she could barely walk in

I was with her literally seconds before she said she'd refer to a dermatologist. So, at least 20 mins of her time, for a few seconds with the GP to do something she probably could have done at the telephone appointment, if that was going to be the level of the examination.

Either way, she could have dealt with other patients in that time. Why on earth are the admin staff still working at home? There are usually loads behind the large reception desk, but only the one answering the buzzer currently.

And why not just refer the first time and save everyone so much wasted time?

[emmathedilemma]

This sounds just like my practice! Getting in is even harder than getting an appointment (and I never thought I'd say that!!). They've got an intercom on the door but there's 2 practices share the building so depending on which one answers they don't have your name on the list, then they go to check but never come back, the sound quality on the intercom is awful (i've no idea how anyone hard of hearing copes), and last time I went there was 5 people shouting their personal details down it for half the village to hear!! By the time they let me in and i got to the waiting room I was late for my appointment and the GP was waiting at the door for me.
There's some things which work great over the phone but having to wait for a phone appointment then wait for a f2f appointment is just a waste of times. Repeat prescriptions, changing tablets etc I'm great with discussing over the phone but skin conditions probably need a f2f appointment as the first contact.

[PizzaPiePizzaPie]

I think triage is a good idea but it’s not working in practice.
DH has a physical problem, he’s been passed to a nurse, a doctor, a physio and back to a doctor. He needs a human to look and put hands on him. He’s been in pain for weeks. I suspect the doctor will refer him eventually but so much time has been wasted.

[romdowa]

I had this in the first lock down. I had to talk to a nurse and a doctor on the phone before I could get an In person appointment for my 3 monthly injection. I complained and there after common sense was applied that two phone appointments were a waste of everyone's time when it's not possible to administer an injection over the phone.

[EverybodyIsInteresting]

How did it take twenty minutes of her time if she said that after a few seconds?

[mutedrainbows]

I had the same exact thing. Two weeks for a phone appt, then another two weeks to be seen, then a quick look and now an undetermined wait until my referral to the skin clinic goes through, then a wait to get that appt. Just crazy!

[KurtWilde]

My mum was supposed to have her routine 3 monthly blood tests and received a letter saying the appointment would be done over the phone. I called the health centre and asked just how this would be possible. The receptionist had no answer, but she did say we could have the nurse out to do them 'if you prefer' like doing it over the phone had been a viable option!!

[Intherightplace]

@EverybodyIsInteresting

How did it take twenty minutes of her time if she said that after a few seconds?

Because she had to do the long walk to the door to collect me, and back (and she was wearing unsuitable footwear, although I suspect that s irrelevant) as I explained.

And she'll be doing that for every patient

[FreshPrincessOfLondon]

I would have thought a better system would be you take a photo and send it to the doctor and then she assesses from the photo.

A friend's GP works like that now for rashes etc. Seems sensible although relies on patients being able to use IT. Saves a lot of time and hassle.

[EverybodyIsInteresting]

It must be one helluva size of a building if that took damn near ten minutes.

[PattyPan]

Ours have a system where you can upload photos of moles, rashes, whatever to accompany phone appointments.

[LuaDipa]

@FreshPrincessOfLondon

I would have thought a better system would be you take a photo and send it to the doctor and then she assesses from the photo.

A friend's GP works like that now for rashes etc. Seems sensible although relies on patients being able to use IT. Saves a lot of time and hassle.

We had to send a photo for one of the kids. Although it still took a call to tell the receptionist the issue, a telephone appointment in which the GP said he needed a photo, we emailed image as requested and then received a callback to say that having seen the photo, a face to face appointment was required and finally a face to face appointment where the GP said actually I’m not happy with this I’m going to refer. I’m not overly bothered as all was sorted which is great, but I’m not sure that with some things it might save time to actually just see a patient in the first instance.

[spacefrog35]

It took me 3 months to manage to book in for my smear test (every time I rang I was 20th in the queue so didn't bother waiting). Eventually, I got through, got my appointment booked (3 weeks away but still). 2 days later they cancelled. I now have to phone them back to rebook 🤦‍♂️.

[Azilliondegrees]

I had a referral to dermatology put through via econsult with photo attached. Pretty quick and easy. Care does seem to vary between practices.

[aftonwater]

@Intherightplace why don’t you contact the Practice Manager and ask them? They will be able to answer your questions whereas we can only speculate. For context, I am a Practice Manager.

[ThanksIGotItInMorrisons]

this was a local surgery. The green box was for samples - urine/poo whatever. Laughingly they had a ‘zero tolerance’ sign up in the window. What a fucking joke. You can’t get them on the phone and if you are one of the chosen few then this is what you were greeted with. ( I only managed to be there due to cervical screening). Height of the pandemic, and no one was there to help.

[MagentaPolkadots]

It's appalling. Last month my prescription apparently vanished into thin air. I was meant to have a telephone appt but nobody ever called. They are now telling me I can speak to a GP in late September, when I requested the appointment in early June and they failed to keep the appointment date in July. I have chronic health conditions and have just had Covid. It's a disgrace and I am so done paying so much tax for this, it's an absolute joke. What was previously a great medical practice has become appalling, with receptionists believing they're qualified to advise on complex health conditions and refusing access to medical staff.

[LBOCS2]

My surgery does seem to be doing quite well with all of this. When we call up, the receptionist asks if the appointment needs to be a face to face one or if it can be over the phone, and I've sent in pictures before when they weren't taking any appointments due to full lockdown. I've also had my smear done (on their instigation) and had my coil changed in the last year.

It seems to vary SO much depending on the surgery.

[FinallyHere]

Recently DH needed an appointment for a patch on his neck. Took just over 30mins dialling over and over again before we made it into the phone queue.

Answered by Triage who arranged a time for GP to call back and provided email address to send photos. When GP well locum called at the time agreed, he had the photos in front of him. Arranged a time to come in later that day m, after which a referral letter was written and emailed to DH before he was even home from the surgery.

A pretty good result all round, making good use of triage and email. I guess that we are lucky with our GPs surgery though there are always complaints on the local FaceBook page. Not sure what to think about them now.

[MzHz]

I genuinely don’t understand why every surgery seems to think they have to reinvent the wheel!

Surely there is some kind of association or group that identifies best practice in terms of organisation of a good surgery so that they can implement policies and systems that are more universally understood and successful.

This really isn’t rocket science I don’t understand why gp surgeries have to make things so hard for themselves and for patients

[FazedNotPhased]

What has her choice of footwear got to do with this? Such an unnecessary, bitchy comment.

[Orf1abc]

What has her choice of footwear got to do with this? Such an unnecessary, bitchy comment.

Most non desked based HCPs wear comfy flats as you're inevitably faster in them. Wearing heels when running up and down stairs all day is inefficient, and not good for the wearer.

(I'm assuming it's heels. Maybe they were clown shoes, which would be equally inefficient.)

[Jacketpotato84]

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Would pobably take her a longer time to do a 20 minute walk in heels everytime a patient comes in

[EverybodyIsInteresting]

@Jacketpotato84

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Would pobably take her a longer time to do a 20 minute walk in heels everytime a patient comes in

I would be very surprised if the doctor had to walk for twenty minutes for every patient. That's about a mile at a fairly sedate pace.

[Bargebill19]

Ours has now stopped repeat prescriptions by telephone. Smart app or via the post box stuck on a the wall only.
Ok for most - but not for the housebound and those without smart phone or the app.
The app requires you to take in ID to get a passcode to access the app the first time. - but you can’t get in the surgery to get the passcode with your ID. So even if you have a smart phone and can use it, if you’ve not set it up before the pandemic - you are stuffed if housebound.

[mibbelucieachwell]

Even before covid I've often thought that some processes seem inefficient. Eg blood tests ordered by the GP. Why don't gps just do the blood tests there and then instead of requiring the patient to have to bother the receptionist to make another appointment with a nurse who has to come out of her room to find you in the waiting area and walk you back to her room. GP could do it in seconds.