Having to be "difficult" to get a GP appointment

[Leavesofautumn]

I've been with this surgery for about a year. When I first joined, you could just phone up and book an appointment, and yes you'd have to wait a few weeks, but at least they'd book it for you. I was also given a same day appointment when I had a UTI.

All change. Now they've added an online booking thing to their website - not the Patient Access website, but something else on the surgery website itself where you have to fill in a questionnaire, it takes you through a series of questions and then at the end it's supposed to book an appointment for you. Except that when I get to the end of quiz, it comes up with a message saying sorry you can't book with us, you need to call the surgery directly. I've tried several different reiterations of this quiz, tried clicking on different things, bending the truth etc, but it's still saying "computer says no".

So I spoke to the receptionist in person the other day (as I was there for a smear test) and showed her this result on my phone, and she basically said she'd never seen such a result before, and didn't know if she could help me etc. She went and spoke to someone, and in the end she very reluctantly booked an appointment for me, but I could tell from her manner that she thought I was "That Patient".

Sorry but what else am I supposed to do? I've literally been put in a "computer says no" situation. I am sick and tired of having to be insistent and "difficult" just to get someone to agree to just book an appointment for me. I know the appointment will be a few weeks away but I'm being treated as difficult just by insisting that they book one, and spending a lot of time convincing them that no, I can't book online, because the online quiz literally won't let me book, and actually told me to phone the surgery.

I'm in a health situation that I've been trying to sort out for two years, I already changed surgery last year because my old GP wouldn't listen. It's caused me so much stress that other aspects of my health are being made worse because of it.

squeaky wheel gets the grease

be that patient. get yours

Rude of the receptionist to seem reluctant to give you an appointment. Who do these receptionists think they are! They're there to do a job, not to act as God's representative on earth. That kind of attitude really annoys me.

God's representative on Earth

🤣🤣
that's accurate!

For me it's more about the fact that she said she'd never seen such a message on their website before. I'm sick of constantly being treated like everything I do is different somehow, or that my requests are "unusual", when actually I'm just an average person trying to book a GP appointment, which surely millions of people do every day. And even if she really hadn't seen one before, she can see it now so why be so obstructive about it?

I'm already having to push to see doctors because I have an ongoing medical problem that I keep being told is unusual, or that nothing's wrong, or nobody's heard of that before etc. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being told I don't fit into people's boxes, and now I'm even being told that just when trying to book an appointment.

God, I hear you. I called on Friday at 8am to get a same day appointment on the phone (even though I know I need f2f because a private online doctor told me it needed to be looked at in person as she thinks it's an infection/bit of an abscess - but that's by the by). Even though this has been standard practice for years and I was caller number 1, I was told 'the doctor will call you within 48 hours'. He explicitly confirmed that included Saturday.

The doctor finally tried calling me on Monday morning. Three times in 2 minutes (2 were within the first minute). I called back as I was on a work call and had an incredibly rude interaction with the receptionist who kept saying they had a 3 call policy and I would need to book again. He chose to die on the hill of 'Sunday is not a working day' even when I explained repeatedly that 48 hours, without Sunday takes us to 8am on Monday and asked if, since there were no actual slots, the doctor could reinsert me back into the list for the day.

After being told again and again that it was my fault and refusing to acknowledge the actual facts, I was told that 'you're not the only one and we're all here giving you a free service'. Livid is not the word. They're all being paid to do a job and I pay a decent chunk of tax - they're not doing us a bloody favour!

Anyway, that's my GP surgery rant off my chest.

And the thing is that now they are going to label me as a "difficult patient". I'm not like this in most of my everyday life, but when it's something as important as your health then what else are you supposed to do? This is all being caused by their imperfect computer system. I know software isn't perfect but I feel like I'm being blamed for it.

Every time I've used my GP surgery's 'E-Consult' this past year it's told me to call 999.

This system is the only way to get an 'appointment' (aka a probably failed phone call for reasons given above by pp).

It's very worrying.

Many GP appointment systems were a shambles before Vivid and now the situation is even worse. You could try writing to your MP. An MP local to me is sitting down with the local commissioning group as so many constituents have complained to him about problems accessing appointments.

before Covid