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

Annoying but can’t be helped.

The GP was likely running late because other people’s needs were greater than yours.

You’ve got it sorted and have been able to provide feedback which is great.

Correct!

Forgot the letter like yours! Yes, everything said telephone. What a waste of everyone's time and a substantial amount of money.

My GP told me that 80% of the diagnosis is in the history - hence phone calls can be very effective.

There is also a shortage of GPs and GPs will be able to fit more patients in with phone calls because there’s no time wasted with the GP waiting for the patient to get to their consulting room. Elderly people often move ever so slowly. I would imagine that they can fit in one extra patient per hour by having telephone appointments.

Glad you managed to get the phonecall in the end.

I can see both sides.

GP could run late for lots of reasons. I don't know how easy it would be to notify everyone they were running late. Also, what would happen of they then had appointments not take as long, and they caught up.
However, there are a lot of jobs where people can't have their phone with them at work.

I am fortunate in that I would from home most days. It means it is easier to answer a GP call. Our gp gives a time frame eg after 2pm. It could be anytime between 2pm and 6pm when they close. If i have a call i try to ve at home.
Not as easy in the office, in an open plan room. I could take the call to a meeting room, but my phone signal isn't great in and around the office, so I could loose the call before getting there.

That is ridiculous! NHS dentist I assume?

YANBU! I feel bad for overloaded GPs but the system is ridiculous. I've had some worrying blood test results back recently, and had to push for an appointment to go over them and change my medication concerning one of the results (seriously undertreated thyroid). Earliest they could schedule me was with a phone appointment almost two weeks after the results came back, so this Wednesday.

The practice texted me this morning saying I was going to be called by the GP between 9-12 today "as requested" - I only realised this when I managed to check my phone after 13.15, on lunch, when I had 3 missed calls and had been teaching the entire morning.

Rang back and the receptionist said I'd now missed this appointment and my original one on Wednesday had been canceled for some reason, so she could offer me next Thursday...

Luckily she did listen to the situation and managed to fit me in this Thursday but what a bloody ridiculous pallava.

They did back her up because the time of arrival was on the computer system- computer says no scenario. They graciously agreed to not mark it on my record (three lates and you’re off their list) as a concession “this time”. The fact that the dentist wasn’t there either was irrelevant apparently 🙄.

These telephone appointments are ridiculous. I had a morning appointment for something urgent. By 1pm I hadn’t had a call. As getting through on the phone takes forever, i.e. “you are 34th in the call queue”, I drove to the practice. The receptionist said, “ah yes, you’re down for a morning telephone appointment” I pointedly looked at my watch, and then she said “it will probably be later this afternoon now”.

I finally got my urgent morning appointment call at 3.20 pm. I’m retired so yes I can hang around all day waiting for a call. When I was at work phones were left in your locker.

So frustrating but glad the GP called again

I had a phone appointment a few weeks ago, no time given just told to make sure my phone is on and available all day from 8am. Luckily I can have my phone with me at work but that day I was working in the oven a lot and there's no signal inside it (all that metal and insulation I guess) so of course the doctor called while I was in the oven. Tried calling 3 times in fact which is good but unfortunately each time was while I was in the oven!
I called back and explained about the oven situation and they made a new appointment and they asked if the doctor could possibly aim to call within a two hour window so I could organise my work so I wouldn't be in the oven then and he did and it all worked out great (because the original doctor that was supposed to call me isn't very helpful if I remember her right, whereas the one who did end up calling me was really helpful)

This is a practice management issue and if it were me I'd complain politely to the practice manager. As the OP has also said above, it's not the doctor's fault and not their issue if the systems they have aren't suitable for many people who have to work.

I have a dog who has to be walked (she won't even wee in the garden) and twice now I've been left explaining personal medical issues in the street have waited hours and eventually had to go out. I've also had the situation where the doctor finished at 12 and there wasn't a system in place to notify me so I waited til 5 when I rang only to be told he'd gone 5 hours earlier.

These are all easily solvable issues that would give everyone an equal chance to access their GPs services which they've paid for with their taxes. I imagine it might also reduce the stress for the GPs.

I suppose you have to think that if this was ten years ago, before they really started doing phone appointments, you’d have been in the surgery waiting room for your appointment. If the GP had been running late then, would you have left and gone back to work or home - or would your have waited?

I do think it’s odd that some professions or services are give a free pass to mess you around no end, and also claim it’s your fault, and others are not. Like they don’t even have to tell you they’re running late.

For other things, the time is the time and everyone accepts that.

Reading your thread prompted me to check my NHS app as I’ve been waiting for an appointment. Good job I did, it’s tomorrow!! No text or notification received. Thanks very much.

As others have said, I think it’s important that we don’t have false ‘Did Not Attend’ (and ‘Attended Late’) statistics floating about in the NHS, both for primary and secondary care.

Who are these statistics supposed to be helping? What purpose do such false stats serve?

Who benefits from the blame-the-patient narratives? Because it isn’t the patients or the GPs. It isn’t the hospital HCPs.

Don’t even get me started on GP’s and GP receptionists at the moment! It’s like they think a GP’s time is more precious than anyone else’s and they can run late, but god forbid anyone who doesn’t respond when they finally do get in touch.

I’ve had this too. Totally infuriating. Why if you wanted me there in person did your communication all state phone call? My fault for thinking it would be a phone call apparently.

Ive worked in a banking department where all phones are banned for security reasons and there are land line phones on the desks for emergencies from school, kids etc. it’s not uncommon.

The assumption that everyone has the sort of job where you can just keep your phone on hand and answer the minute it rings is ridiculous. What if you’re a driving instructor, or a teacher or a chef or a pilot or a paramedic?

I think we need joined up thinking somewhere , because many people cannot take time off work for a phone appointment or have their phone on them at work .

Glad you finally got to speak ot the GP

Can't believe the hard time you are getting for not having your phone switch on and next to you outside of your break. There are many many jobs where you can't to this and I'm in the camp GPs need to call around the agreed time (if you were 10 mins late they wouldn't see you) or leave a voicemail to say they'll try again later.