To be annoyed at the GP receptionist for being arsey about this?

Yanbu it really irritates me. We can't all have our phones on us all day. We don't even get given a time slot!

The OP is being told she missed an apppintment when she didnt That is gaslighting.

Do you also think these women should shut up and be grateful?

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/four-women-share-horror-stories-32973828

Maybe if drs called on time people would actually answer their phones

It doesn't sound like anything resembling that has happened here?

When you feel aggrieved at the NHS, it's genuinely a really good idea to take a little step back, appreciate that it's free at the point of use and consider how much more tax you'd be willing to pay to bring it up to par.

Because despite what the politicians like to tell you, more money absolutely would make a huge difference.

They are run ragged. Who do you think was supposed to notice the call hadn't been made? If you expect high levels of service, go private.

Its not GPs being overworked we are objecting to. Its when they pass the blame onto the patients by gaslighting and saying they missed appintments that is the problem.

Telephone appointments aren't for a set time, because so many people don't pick up. This should have been made clear to you when you booked it. I'd say only 50% of patients pick up on the first call.

In between, the clinician is dealing with other urgent queries such as incoming calls from paramedics and district nurses.

If you want to look like a complete dick, go ahead and complain. Your med review probably wasn't the most important thing on the GPs radar.

A missed appointment is when you don't turn up for a face to face appointment. It is not missing a phone call, even if it's in the slot they give you, there could be a reason you miss it, like your mobile phone suddenly deciding to reboot itself!

I think 10 minutes either side of a slot should be fine.

The post above reminds me of when my son was small and we had an appointment with a consultant. We had a 9am appointment, which I understood was the first of the day. The doctor didn't even arrive until 9.45.

But so many jobs simply cant allow for this. Would it be reasonable to miss my 6 period teaching day, incurring 6 periods of cover so that I can sit by my phone? I find it incredible that in 2026 we cannot come up with a better system.

Hi @SneakyGremlin, totally get your frustration but I can almost guarantee you that your GP will be just as frustrated, on a non-stop daily basis, as they will be so overloaded and overworked.

There is every chance that they will give you a call later today, potentially out of hours, as they will be aware that they didn't catch you earlier. Not because the receptionist "asked" them to, but because they will just work through their call sheets until they're done. So definitely keep an eye on your phone.

And for next time, I would say that those telephone appointment times are indicative, at best, so expect the call at any time that day.

I don't think that they realise that some of us don't have jobs where we can just answer the phone our surgery is terrible they will often call 5/6 hours later. Then it gets recorded as you missed the appointment. Ugh no i was sat by my phone at my appointment time you missed the appointment. This is why I get so annoyed when the nhs are always going on about 1000s of missed appointments 😡 sorry I made that about me but im 100% with you on this op

In a former life, my response to the receptionist could well have been "It is absolutely relevant, because the person I was due to anaesthetise in theatre couldn't wait"

The NHS and housing associations really do have a lot in common

Oh this kind of thing does my head in!!! Luckily my GP Practice is very good, and will call at a fairly prompt time. So if your appointment is for 4pm, they will usually call by 4.15pm and I have never known them call any later than 15-20 minutes late to be honest. I have a sketchy signal in my rural village - and occasionally the call goes straight to voicemail. So frustrating! They do try another 2-3 times though. But it may not be for another hour. It has to be when they've got time. They will often call within another 2 minutes, but they do sometimes call much later (if they can't get through because no signal!) Not their fault then though...

I have had experiences with (and know other people who have had experiences with) various Hospital Consultants this past few years, and they are the WORST! You get to your appointment on time, (well, 10 minutes early actually!) and often don't get called in for 40 to 50 minutes after the appointment. Then you're in there 5 minutes, he takes a quick shufti, and then you're out! Why the fuck was he so behind?!!! I have even known cases where the Consultant calls people in 35-45 minutes after their appointment, when the appointment was only the second one of the day! They really are the epitome of the phrase 'my time is more important than yours!!!'

@SneakyGremlin You did NOT miss this appointment, and it's very important that you make sure it goes on record that you didn't miss it!

.

That is ludicrous!

SMH! 😖

On another occasion at the dentist, 08:30 appointment, I was there at 08:25, surgery was closed. Receptionist appeared at 08:30, made me wait outside while she opened up, logged on etc, let me in and then said she would have to mark me down as late because it was now almost 08:40. The dentist wasn’t there either and when I pointed out that I couldn’t possibly be late when I was in fact the only person involved who was on time, she held her ground. I complained to the practice manager because that situation was so ridiculous as to be unbelievable

Steam would be coming out of my ears at that, @AnAudacityofinlaws ! What was the response? They can’t possibly have backed the receptionist up?!

I think you’re being very unreasonable. A phone consultation with a GP is just the same as a face to face one in that doctors often run late and can do little about it. I don’t think half an hour after your appointment time is unreasonably late on the part of the doctor, and of course you should have kept your phone ready for the call.

I don’t have any signal in work so if they don’t call on my break/lunch then I get nothing

yanbu! I hate this nonsense op. They seem to think that all of their patients are all at home all day. I last had a telephone appointment scheduled at 12. I was available 11-2. After which I am needed back in court (for wok) the idea that u should simply have my phone handy is ludicrous. So many jobs simply cannot accommodate this.

At my surgery you are given an appointment time but it means nothing because phone appointments are only “morning” or “afternoon”. And if they don’t have time for you in the morning then you just have to wait by the phone all afternoon until they call. It’s a stupid system. But I can’t remember the last time I had an in-person appointment that wasn’t at least half an hour late so the timings are just a vague guide

Not all workplaces will be able to be understanding, even if they want to be. Just off the top of my head:
A bus driver.
A dr, nurse, or other HCP with their own appointments & patients.
A teacher who can’t leave their class alone.

ETA - I still think it’s not unreasonable for the GP to be late. Sometimes that happens and it’s no one’s fault. But it’s also not the phone call patient’s fault if they then miss it.