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

I’ve had similar as well, I did complain and actually left the practice after they didn’t even bother to reply to the complaint - there was a little bit more to mine then just missing the late phone call.

what makes it worse is when you want to talk about something personal, so you find somewhere quiet rather than an office full of people.

So your SIL obviously knows that medical appointments/surgety/consultations don’t always go to plan! Or is she that rare species whose workload goes completely on schedule by the minute? Lucky her!

What sort of job do you do where your management don’t allow you to take a call from the doctors unless it’s your break?

I can think of a few such as driving jobs etc but I’m curious.

No, not every workplace allows this. Also, physical appointments are never as late as some phone appointments are. AND you can't miss a physical one as you are actually there in the surgery. As a pp said, you will likely not be in the surgery for more than 40 minutes in total. Whereas you can wait around for hours for a phone call. And it's very easy to miss!

You might be interested in a book called Middle Ground by Joe Carpenter. Its written by a social housing contractor.

https://hqnetwork.co.uk/news/book-review-middle-ground-a-frontline-journey-in-social-housing/

Indeed they are. As is my DH - when he was a barrister he would not have dared be late for court.

I can happily live without my NHS GP. I'd be even happier if I got tax relief for not doing so.

Physical appointments were also very often really late, at least with a phone appointment you're not sitting in the doctor's office for hours. Couldn't you just listen for calls even if you are working?

Mine (GP) NEVER stick to the time they say .
Fortunately I CAN take calls at work , though when I have worked with kids we can not have phones out (safeguarding )

Feedback might help but mine dont apologise when they miss the given time slot :(
It is frustrating I know.
If it IS a reviewt prescription, can you put a message on the E consult thing (if you use at your surgery) and explain you are OUT and can they honour one month worth until the review has been done.
I have phoned 111 before and they can get myh notes up and dispense an emergency supply BUT not a months worth so it is an expensive way of doing it.

I feel your annoyance !

Because they are highly trained experts who provide an essential public service that you cannot live without?

Yes I'd tell them that there system does not work for people who are in work themselves.
We haven't all got time to sit waiting and watching our phones for a call.
I'd tell the receptionist she was out of order aswell .. cheeky cow.

Why on earth should anyone respect healthcare professionals who waste the patients' time.

I appreciate that at my practice a telephone consultation is between 10.30 and 2pm. I can't clear my diary for 3.5 hours. It's easier for me to clear my diary for an hour, drive to GP, wait and return. If they offered an hour slot for a phone call, I could do that.

It's only happened once but when I arrived, the first thing the Dr said was "we could have done this over the phone". I was not persuaded they actually took on board why we could not.

I agreed with the G.P receptionist just last week for a call from a clinical pharmacist, I asked they call on my day off. I then get a text saying an appointment has been scheduled for a day I’m working at 9:45. I arranged with my line manager to take a break at 9.40 to take the call. The G.P surgery then called at 09:25. It’s such a stupid system. My own company has a decent system for call backs at specific times. Why G.Ps surgeries cannot have the same I don’t know.

This has happened to me before. I think you'll be howling into the wind to complain. They surely know we can't take the day off work to wait for an appointment, but they don't care.

Oh defo!!!

Housing Associations and social housing landlords in general will just dish out appointments to tenants, and never check to see if it's convenient!!! Electrical checks that take 3 hours, gas safety checks that take an hour, remedial work that's done every 5 years (like outdoor painting and maintenance,) that can take several days, and 5 year general maintenance check-ups, that can take 2 hours.

My friend had a letter with an appointment for the 'Housing Inspector' to come and do a 5-year maintenance check up, and it was 10th May. (It was gonna last 2 hours.) The Wednesday of the following week. The letter said to ring and re-arrange if it was not convenient.

She rang them and said she is at work and she and will have to re-arrange it. She said 'I am off for 3 days the week after next, so they can come then.' (Would have been about 17-19 May.) The woman said 'oh no sorry, Jeff our Inspector only does your area on the second week of each month, so he won't be able to come back til week commencing 8th June.'

So my friend said 'well we will arrange a date for that week then. Give me a date and I will book off the morning... I will struggle to book off next Wednesday morning though... Bit short notice... and I have a meeting' The woman said 'oh no sorry, Jeff doesn't send his appoinments out til 1-2 weeks before, so for the second week in June, the letters will come out around 30th May. We will send you a date for the second week in June then, but we can't guarantee the date.' My friend said 'but there's no guarantee I won't be at work again!' The woman said 'well we can just send another date for July, and if that's no good just keep going til we catch you in.'

My friend said 'ya know what, sod it, just leave it, I will book the morning off on 10th May!' They made it so hard for her to re-arrange it, and she knows if she had let it go on and on, they would have accused her of contravening the terms of her tenancy by 'not letting them in...' and probably put her on some kind of warning... 🙄 So she had to use holiday leave, and re-arrange a meeting.

Same happened to someone I know with her gas safety check. They kept sending out letters with dates on for her to have her yearly safety check, and just assumed that she would be in. She is a really busy, frazzled working single mum, and she missed them 3 times, and they send her a letter threatening to end her tenancy and evict her!

Honestly, they assume everyone in social housing doesn't work!!! Not only that, but they assume that everyone has fuck-all to do except sit in and wait for them! It's so stupid. And as has been said, some people actually cannot take calls randomly at any time of the day, and have to do it on their break or lunchtime. Not everyone is allowed to take calls in works time!

And the NHS just sending out random appointments to people without checking first if it's OK is just as stupid. People can easily miss the letters and then get taken off 'the list.' (And there is the assumption that people can just sit by the phone all day until they can be bothered to phone!!!)

And as has been said, it makes you wonder how many 'did not attends' and 'missed appointments' actually WERE what they said, or were they cases of them sending random appointments out assuming people can make it, (and people not getting the letters, or not being able to make it,) or 2pm phone appointments that actually ended up being at 3.30pm resulting in the person being unable to take the call/missing it?!

I remember a time (some 10 years ago) when they would send letters out to people with a username and a code to get into an appointments page online, and you could select an appointment. WTF happened to this system?!

Was not allowed my phone at work unless on a break.

I think what you’re saying is very reasonable.

A lot of workplaces won't let you have your personal phone on you for security reasons. I've just left a job in a bank - there were hundreds of people in the building who have to leave their phones outside their work areas, no exceptions. They now provide a private GP on site - it's cheaper than having staff keep taking half-days 'sick' because they can't get an appointment with their own doctor for a fixed time.

I had one booked last week, I asked for a time and was told it could be anytime from 8.30am - 1pm. Re-scheduled teams calls to the afternoon. Got a text message at 9am, unforeseen emergency and it would now be sometime 2-6pm. Rang and asked if it could be after 3pm as very important unavoidable call at 1.30pm -2.30pm. Dr rang at 2pm 😩

I've had similar issues with my GP practice and they seem to behave like patients have nothing else to do but sit around a wait for them. For a while there was only a GP in my practice on a Wednesday, and that's my office day. I had a call booked for 3pm, arranged to drive home at lunchtime so I could talk about the personal issue in private and they called me at about 1pm whilst I was driving on the motorway so I missed it. I called back when I got home, and they did manage to arrange for the GP to call back, but the receptionist made out like they were doing me a huge favour. I've had issues on other occassions where they've called at completely the wrong time again. I now insist on an in-person appointment, because the timing of the phone appointments is so unpredictable and I can't block out my whole day to be ready to pick up the phone whenever is convenient to them each time I need to speak to my GP.

You are and you certainly have!

Oh yes, this thread is positively brimming with respect for healthcare professionals!

Lol no chance with NHS technology!!

It's not that running late is unacceptable (or even unexpected). It's the
"I'm going call at a random time and you only have one chance to answer"
that is so rude and unprofessional.

They should try again, or arrange a time to catch up with you ... like any other professional would

Yes i know they are.

I would call this a ‘basic’ level of service rather than ‘high’.

If they are running so late that i wonder if they have forgotten me, then they can expect me to check with them. Maybe they need to create a text service.

It’s not just about their level of service, it’s quite clearly causing an issue of ‘missed appointments’ for themselves.

And yes i have also had to go private multiple times when they have failed my young kids.

It’s the false ‘DNA’ numbers being touted around that annoy me.