Phone appointments with doctor

[Shapesorted]

How is everyone managing this when you have other things to do and no idea when the phone will ring?

DS (15) has an appointment this morning (booked 3 weeks ago) to discuss a long term condition.

He's been up since 8am (first day of the holidays, he's delighted!) and I'm trying to work but it's hard to get in to anything without knowing when the phone will ring. He can't venture far from me either just in case.

When I booked it she said he was second on the morning list barring any emergencies. Well that could mean anytime then couldn't it? Is there not a better system (an app) that would at least let you know how many appointments were before you?

How are you all managing unknown times if appointments?

It's such a pain isn't it. We've just kept phone with us until the call and if WFH have kept work calls to a minimum and let boss know that we are waiting on a GP call so may need to drop out of a call for 5-10 mins if on business call.

I don't know why they don't give you a slot . It really wouldn't be difficult to say we will phone between 10-11. Instead of hanging about all day.

It's so frustrating, and some problems are just so difficult to explain over the phone.

It's awful. My DH is a GP and he really is beginning to hate his job. It's nobody's fault, it's just that the dam has burst and all of those people with health issues that have been put on the backburner in the past year, combined with the myriad of crises people have found themselves in following a year+ of pandemic living, have come to the fore on steroids. DH faces a daily patient list that in pre-covid times would have been done over the course of 2 days. He's calling people after 9 pm... patients he should have called hours earlier. There are so many unseen crises and there aren't enough hours in the day to put the fires out, OP. It's awful and it's resulting in inferior care. DH knows this and it is demoralising. Even if your DS got a slot, the GP won't call him on time. All it takes is one patient breaking down crying and crumbling across the phone line and voila! One hour can be tied up just attending to this poor person's needs, which deserve more than a 10-minute slot. Patients and doctors are treated like automatons. There's no room for compassion or emotion and it sucks.

I had the GP ring me on the school run. I had to pop into the village hall doorway where it was a bit quieter to speak with him. The time before that I was convinced I’d been forgotten about - but it was 7.30pm before he rang!!

its so shit isnt it