Moan about getting a doctors appointment - is your surgery the same?

[WideWebWitch]

And what can I do about it? Called today and got through after about 20 attempts since it was constantly engaged. On asking for an appointment I was told the next available would be Thursday but no, I couldn't book it now, I'd have to call at 8.30am tomorrow when they start allocating those appointments. Now, I know from recent experience that at 8.30am it will take me at least 15 minutes to get through because it will be constantly engaged. Again. Now, is all of this because of govt targets of 'you must get an appt within a day' or some such crap? I'm not saying the targets are crap, just that this method of allocating appts (i.e. in order to meet targets, not patient need) is absolute pants. IMO. So is your surgery the same? And what do you think I should do? Or have I got too much time on my hands if I'm getting pissed off about stuff like this? TIA.

[Toothache]

WWW - That is EXACTLY what we get told! You can either book one 10 days in advance, or phone at 8.30am of the morning you want to appointment, but be prepared to sit pressing redial until you get through! Pi$$es me right off.

The only alternative is to ask for an emergency appointment, go in at 5pm and sit and wait.

[Toothache]

Or I always find that threatening to wait until the surgery is closed and phone the out of hours service always works. They obviously get a bollocking from the hospital if you go there and say I'm sorry I had to come here, but my GP wouldn't see me soon enough.

[luckymum]

My surgery work a week in advance .....unless you're at death's door and then you might be 'allowed' a same day appointment. I've rung mine tody for an appointment next week. When I got through the Tues a.m. appys were full so to get one in the afternoon I have to ring after 3.30 when they start allocating them. Aaaaaaaaaargh!

The only up side is he's an excellent GP and will always see the children same day.

[Toothache]

I also hate the fact you've got to get through the inpenentratable wall that is the Medical Receptionist! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[Flip]

There are no appointments available in advance at my surgery. Everyone has to phone at 8.00 am and it's usually engaged none stop.

If I need an appointment after they've all gone, I don't ask, I tell them. "I need to see a doctor today, it can not wait until tomorrow. When should I come in?" Be bolshi is always works for me.

[Janh]

Well ours used to be difficult to get a non-urgent appt sooner than about 2 weeks off, but if you needed an urgent one they would generally fit you in that day, and sometimes you'd get a non-urgent one within a day or so - depended on which doc you wanted to see, the time you rang and possibly the phase of the moon

I was gobsmacked though when I rang at about 4pm the other day for a non-urgent one for DS2 to be told they didn't do advance appts any more, only same-day ones - me "oh" - speechless, thinking I would have to jump through hoops like you today - until she said "can you come at 5.20?"!!!!!!

We wondered if this is partly a way to cut down on the no-shows from advance appts? Obviously they need to have enough staff to provide appts when people need them and this is my only experience so far, it might have been a fluke, and it just happened that we were able to go at that time, for people who eg work elsewhere or live in one of the villages miles away it wouldn't be so easy.

If you ring your surgery before 8.30 does it actually ring or do you get a recorded message? Only you could try to dial at 8.29? (set your alarm for 8.28 to remind you!)

(I realise this probably doesn't help at all but am just taking a swift break from w*rk.)

[muddaofsuburbia]

Hi WWW. Sounds similar to us.

Tried to get an appointment yesterday morning as an emergency patient (was in tears on the phone). Got no answer after 10 mins of ringing, at 9am on the dot.

Phoned again at 9:20am and was answered straight away. Sarky receptionist said there were no more emergency appointments that day and that I "really should have tried to phone earlier than this". When I explained that I had and there was no answer, she said "oh yes, I know it sounds like the phone is just ringing out, but actually you were in a queue and you should have held on."

She wouldn't let me make another appointment for later on in the week - you now have to phone from when the surgery opens and join the lottery.

So I then drove to A&E (in floods by now) and was seen within an hour and half by lovely, helpful staff and have been referred to another clinic with an urgent outpatient appt in the next week - something which probably not happened with my GP anyway.

Don't know what you can do WWW, but turning up at A&E can't be a long term solution!

[foxinsocks]

yes ours is the same and its only just recently changed. You phone at 8.30 for one on the day or book one a week in advance (and only then at certain times). However, if a child is poorly they will generally see you asap. Best thing to do is to go down and queue outside the surgery at 8 and wait for the doors to open and get an early appointment. Last time I did this, I got there at 8am and was about 10th in the queue - its fine in summer but I won't be too happy doing that in winter! Thank goodness I hardly have to go to the docs!

[bundle]

it's pants. write a letter to the practice manager saying it's just not working. get some other patients interested & they'll have to listen. cc your letter to the local primary care trust.

[Flip]

Our GP's are wise to that foxinsocks. The phone lines open at 8am but the doors don't open until 8.30am

It's bad news when you go to the docs so much that you're on first name terms with the receptionists and there's about six of them. Same in the pharmacy.

[Galaxy]

message withdrawn

[foxinsocks]

ooh Flip that's cruel. poor you

[Blu]

It must be possible to do it better, because our surgery is under a lot of pressure, in a high-density area, lots of problems etc, but have a brilliant system. Can phone at any time for an appointment any time. Keep half their doctors for 'drop in and wait' just for children in the morning and another drop-in and wait session for all-comers in the afternoon. They are a fund-holding practice, and offer free acupuncture, osteo, chiropodist etc if referred by a Dr. Did free ante-natal yoga - and when I was just about to go into labour my dp did his back in. Mt doctors (he is not registered there0 gave him a free osteo course on the grounds that he had to support ME in labour!
Sorry - don't mean to gloat, just to say it CAN be done so if it isn't like that, WRITE!

[bundle]

oh and we have an under-5's emergencies - phone at 8am, be there by 8.45 latest, and we were out of door with antibiotics by 8.55. lovely

[Flip]

You are gloating Blue!!!

[suedonim]

I haven't quite fathomed how our surgery now works, but I suspect it's something along the lines www mentions. But how come that even if I call at 8.30 on the dot and work my way through their computerised system there still aren't any appts that day? Who gets them, cos no one I know does?

Because we are a rural area one of the GP's is always on duty for emergencies and the Minor Injuries Unit so if you really can't wait until next day he/she will phone you back, which is okay. Or there's always what I call the back-door method - see the nurse who can queue jump you to the Dr. Luckily, we don't often need appts now, but we've had our fair share of always being at the doctors. Our record is five times in one week with same child.

[Tinker]

Must say I've always been pretty pleased with mine. Rang yesterday morning and was told to come in straight away - was a bit of an emergency but they run an emergency surgery 10 to 11 on Monday. May run it on otehr days as well, don't know. Heard others in the surgery booking for a fortnight ahead so they must do advance bookings as well. Think I've had to wait 2 days at the most for a non-urgent appointment. And they run an out of hours doctors co-operative surgery as well.

[susanmt]

My surgery can always allocate an appointment the same day if you need it or next day if its not an emergency. My dh sees EVERY patient (except medicals and minor surgery) the same day. It can be done, if the doctors allocate enough appointments and dont have too many patients on their list - but a lot do, as you get paid mainly per head then some docs take on far too many to make more money.

[musica]

www, have you tried Whiteladies? I don't know how far their area goes, but that's where we are based, and it is a walk in system, no appointments at all - surgery every day am and pm, and sat am, and we have never waited longer than 20-30 mins. I'll email you the number if you like.

[slug]

Do I win? On average I wait 3 weeks for an appointment though my record has been 7 weeks. Generally there is no point trying to get an appointment if it's not the first week of the month. They make all the appointments for the month then close the books. 'Try again at the beginning of the month' is what you get if you ring up.

However, they do have emergency surgery 9-11am each morning, done on a first come, first serve basis. The queue waiting outside for the door to open at 8.55am can stretch around the corner. And then of course you have to run the gauntlet of the deamon recptionist. My particular favourite was turning up with dd in a raging fever, floppy and unresponsive, then the receptionist 'forgetting' to put my name on the list. 3 hours we waited, then were told to come back the next day. One mighty strop later I was ushered in post haste.

[WideWebWitch]

God that's crap Slug! Makes me look positively lucky. Oh, I may complain tomorrow if I can summon up the energy. Or just see if we can all transfer to another surgery.

[Rae1973]

At our surgery you have to phone after 8am, they very rarely start answering until 8.10 though, 9 times out of 10 you can get an appointment for the same day with the doctor of your choice,but what riles me is that they answer, say do you want appointments and before you have time to answer they put you through and they are really really ignorant , sometimes I have known me ring for an appointment to be kept hanging on for 10 minutes and then when finally answered its the same person who answered the phone in the first place .

THEN, when you get through to appointments the receptionist wants to know what is wrong with you so that THEY can decide whether you actually need to see a doctor or whether you can be seen by either a triage nurse or have a phone appointment.

Is it just me, or, does anyone else not like telling a receptionist what is wrong with them to let them decide.

I rang the other day for a telephone appointment and then had to go through all this rigamarole so that SHE could decide whether dd needed the doctor or triage.

Needless to say, when I ring for appointment and she says can I asked what its about, it usually say 'Yes' and leave her to respond , or I say 'Yes you can ask but I'm not going to tell you'.

I'll never forget the time when dd1 was ill, I went to the window and said can I have a bowl because I think she is going to be sick, she said that she was too busy at the minute and could I wait, at that minute, dd1 threw up ALL OVER, down my top, in my handbag, I even had it in my bra, this dozy receptionist just stood there watching, when dd1 had finished she walked off at a snails pace and nearly 10 minutes later came back with an empty ice cream container, needless to say I was absolutely livid.

[tallulah]

When the kids were little our GP had a really good system & if you rang for an appointment they'd normally say "can you come now?". (we could be there in seconds as it was the same road!)

Then she moved to a new surgery a few years ago & since then it takes over a week to get an appointment. Luckily we don't go very often (so they may have changed it).

I was unimpressed to go over there last year & find that one of the new receptionists is my ex boss from when I worked in a call centre!! I hated her then & still do! Makes it very awkward.

My worst visit was my DS2 threatened suicide about 18 mths ago & I was told to take him down to the surgery IMMEDIATELY (called out to school)... trying to explain- obliquely- to the dragon receptionist why we were there (having explained it to someone else on the phone) with DS next to me, was no fun.

[bundle]

Rae, I'm not defending ALL receptionists but my mum is one and is really nice ..and sometimes does ask about what the problem is because some people do take the p**s, and that's why other needy people can't get appointments. btw my receptionist never asks me what the problem is, but there are posters up everywhere about specialist nurse-led clinics for eg smoking cessation, smears, diabetes advice etc.

[misdee]

with the surgery i use, u can try and get appointmebnts the same day up till about 2-3weeks ahead. if u call first thing ucan get a morning appt if any left, if u phone 2pm they will fit u in at the end of surgery. went in yesterday to make appointment for dh, he was seen today, and made an appointment for dd for friday at their sister surgery in annother part of town.