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Original poster

This is why A&E is overwhelmed

594 replies

PackedintheUK · 25/10/2021 12:52

And it's nothing to do with over anxious patients seeking "unnecessary" medical care.

I have a very sore very swollen ankle as a result of an insect bite. I've asked advice at the pharmacy and been told it looks nasty, see your GP, you probably need antibiotics.

So I've tried. I've been calling GP surgery all morning and finally got through to have receptionist incredulously say "you want to see a doctor for a gnat bite?" and then be told the next appointment is 16 Nov.

Me: but pharmacist said I need seeing urgently.
Receptionist: All the emergency appointments are gone for today. You'll have to call back tomorrow.
Me: but I've been calling all morning, won't the same thing happen tomorrow?
Receptionist: Well I can't do anything about that, if you're that worried go to A&E

So,I'm not sure that I am "that" worried, but I have been told by someone better qualified than me that I should be seen. We lost a colleague to sepis this year, a fit young woman and it happened incredibly quickly, plus I have a friend currently in hospital on intravenous antibiotics from a very similar looking bite he got at the same park.

I also don't actually feel that well.My body aches and feels heavy and I'm a bit queasy, which could be coincidence or my imagination.

Probably/hopefully it is nothing that won't heal itself in a few days but it feels irresponsible not to take the advice I've been given. Also to go to A&E

So A&E for something that could (probably) have been dealt with in a matter of seconds in a GP (telephone/video?) appointment?

There's no walk in or minor injuries here.

OP posts:
Artie30 · 25/10/2021 14:56

@Artie30

Either ring go again and insist on being seen r even just speak to a doctor on the phone. I'm sure they could prescribe without even saying you. Failing that, ring 111 and go to a&e or minor injuries. You need to be seen if feeling unwell!
To add, if you can contact 111 they can book a telephone consultation with your gp. I rang 111 recently out of desperation and they booked me in for a telephone consultation with gp... they can do this a set amount a day with an individual surgery! Still didn't get to see doctor but at least I got to speak to one without going through receptionists again
Getawaywithit · 25/10/2021 15:01

You’re not wrong, OP. I am currently dealing with a wound that I left and left because I couldn’t even get seen at the walk-in. Fortunately I got an emergency appointment at the GP after 2 days of trying - and am now looking at 3 months of regular appointments. Had I felt able to contact the GP for what I thought was something and nothing in the first place, it would not have got this bad - and would have cost the NHS less, no doubt. It is very worrying how hard it is to get seen for something that seems small and I am left wondering how many people are genuinely suffering. My next stop was A & E but who knows how much worse I might have waited to avoid that and how much worse it would have been. I really advise anyone who thinks something is not quite right to just persist until you get seen. It’s so very, very difficult at the moment.

IntermittentParps · 25/10/2021 15:02

Go to A&E and then complain to your GP practice.

Interested in this thread?

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General health
VickyEadieofThigh · 25/10/2021 15:04

My brother calls them 'Consultant receptionists', these people who've been "trained" to undertake triage over the phone - this consisting largely of telling people they can't see a GP and they should go to A & E.

A friend told me only today that she was seen by a consultant 6 weeks ago after being diagnosed with osteoporosis - her GP has still not written her the requisite prescription and when she called the receptionist last week to ask what was going on, the receptionist told her "Oh, you just need to buy vitamin D over the counter". FOR OSTEOPOROSIS...

bubblepond · 25/10/2021 15:04

@TrueGrit54

My GP practice has about 9 doctors, only one (male) works full time, all the others (mainly female) do 3 or 2 day weeks. They don’t seem to need the money. Extremely difficult to get an appointment, in the last 2 years we have filled in very long forms/questionnaire online and within 2 days we get a reply leading to a phone consult. It feels like it’s how dare you ask to see your GP. I remember as a little girl in the 70s our GP did home visits even for tummy ache and the flu! Home visits! My parents didn’t beg him or anything, he just saw it as part of his job.
It's not that "they don't seem to need the money", it's that a part time GP will often work a more-than-40-hour week. You will find very, very few "full time" GPs as it's just not sustainable. Are GPs not allowed to be human/have other commitments outside of work? Also many who work part time in the practice will have other commitments Eg teaching, commissioning etc

I'm training to be a GP and I'd love it if the job I was going into was the way it was 40-50 years ago. Unfortunately, it's just not. GP surgeries are looking after many, many more people now (population is 20% bigger for a start, more chronic illnesses and ageing population) with more complex problems than in the 70s. This makes the model of primary care that worked then, completely unrealistic and impossible now.

eeyore228 · 25/10/2021 15:08

This is not the only reason. Yes GP’s are part of the problem, but there are also issues with people understanding when to see someone, many just go straight to A&E because we are very poor at self care. However, the number of people who are coming in genuinely seeking emergency help has increased and when they require admission they are often left waiting for a bed because there are none free. Many of those patients also require a lot.of caring which takes more time. It's no good blaming it all on GP’s when we have a large population, no extra space to see them in and staff leaving meaning there's a staffing issue too. It's way more complex than GP’s.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 25/10/2021 15:08

@HalzTangz

I don't know why people aren't signing up for online services for their doctor's surgery. You can book an appointment online without trying to ring all day.
Mine used to do that and it was brilliant. If I needed a non urgent appointment I could book it in advance and on the day appointments were for urgent matters. They stopped it 'because of Covid' and everything has gone downhill since.
womaninatightspot · 25/10/2021 15:08

@VickyEadieofThigh

My brother calls them 'Consultant receptionists', these people who've been "trained" to undertake triage over the phone - this consisting largely of telling people they can't see a GP and they should go to A & E.

A friend told me only today that she was seen by a consultant 6 weeks ago after being diagnosed with osteoporosis - her GP has still not written her the requisite prescription and when she called the receptionist last week to ask what was going on, the receptionist told her "Oh, you just need to buy vitamin D over the counter". FOR OSTEOPOROSIS...

The doctors I am with now is fab but my old doctors was pants call endlessly and be told no appointments left, call back tomorrow, things either got better themselves or worsened to the point of hospitilisation.
DeclineandFall · 25/10/2021 15:09

I had the same thing - infected insect bite. NO GP appointments, no minor injuries clinic. Triage sent me to A & E though they were v keen for me to do nothing but having had cellulitis before I wasn't leaving it. Got antibiotics. System is well and truly broken. That was N Ireland. A & E shouldn't be dealing with stuff like this.

Andwander · 25/10/2021 15:10

There is private service called Medicspot(google it) I had an infection and needed antibiotics,but it was completelyimpossible to see a GP. It costs about £50,but you get your antibiotics immediately from your pharmacist.hope you get better soon.

PressingTeams · 25/10/2021 15:12

@HalzTangz

I don't know why people aren't signing up for online services for their doctor's surgery. You can book an appointment online without trying to ring all day.
My surgery has withdrawn the online appointment booking facility.

I think the answer to this is to not tell the receptionist what you need the appointment for!

FooFighter99 · 25/10/2021 15:16

Please don't just leave it @PackedintheUK

I also react badly to insect bites, with the last ones (all around my ankles) needing 2 lots of antibiotics

And Cellulitis can quickly turn into sepsis, so please go to A&E - it really isn't worth the risk!

Malibuismysecrethome · 25/10/2021 15:17

At my GP surgery you can call twice a day for appointments, at 8.00 am and 12.00 pm. Call at those times and get the line busy signal. It’s impossible to get through. Call at any other time, even ten minutes past these times and you are told no appointments are available call back at 8 or 12. Ffs answer the phone and give us appointments.

Lemonandlime123 · 25/10/2021 15:18

You could try 111. I recently called 111 for an infected burn. They were amazing, a doctor called me back within 5 minutes and I collected antibiotics from my local pharmacy an hour or so later.

julieca · 25/10/2021 15:18

@TrueGrit54

My GP practice has about 9 doctors, only one (male) works full time, all the others (mainly female) do 3 or 2 day weeks. They don’t seem to need the money. Extremely difficult to get an appointment, in the last 2 years we have filled in very long forms/questionnaire online and within 2 days we get a reply leading to a phone consult. It feels like it’s how dare you ask to see your GP. I remember as a little girl in the 70s our GP did home visits even for tummy ache and the flu! Home visits! My parents didn’t beg him or anything, he just saw it as part of his job.
The population was smaller then and people went to the GP less. Parents would not go to the GP with lots of things they do now. Instead they asked their own parents for advice. Sometimes this was fine, other times not. Hence big campaign back the telling parents not to butter on burns.
HalloweenCheeseboard · 25/10/2021 15:19

I think the system is broken. We needed an appointment for DD once as she had a high temperature (104F) for the 5th consecutive day. This was pre Covid.

She seemed ok (as in sick but not lethargic/not drinking) but guidance is that you should consult a doctor. I called our GP who said that couldn’t see her but that I needed to go to the A&E and have her urgently assessed. My other two children were ill as well but less so. We spent 5 hours in the A&E, probably giving our bugs to the entire waiting room Sad.

marriednotdead · 25/10/2021 15:19

It looks as if A&E May be your best option.

Don't know if anyone else will find this useful but some GPs appointments can be accessed by an app called Ask First. It takes an average of an hour on hold to get through to my GP but they release a few appointments at 9pm each night which can be booked this way. Of course our surgery is doing phone appointment first before they will consider face to face but still. I've been able to make an appointment 6 times out of 7 attempts so far.

ShowOfHands · 25/10/2021 15:19

We've had years of this here. Minor injuries all go through our local - failing - hospital.

This is why A&E is overwhelmed
julieca · 25/10/2021 15:20

@HalloweenCheeseboard why is that a sign of the system broken? Your GP thought your child needed to go to A and E.

Pyewackect · 25/10/2021 15:21

If you had to pay £50 to see a doctor but you could see them immediately or at your convenience, would you ? I would.

alloalloallo · 25/10/2021 15:23

I don't know why people aren't signing up for online services for their doctor's surgery. You can book an appointment online without trying to ring all day.

I’ve signed up for all the online services my GP offers, but still really struggle to get an answer/speak to anyone when I need to

My DD has a disability and sometimes gets pretty nasty flare-ups of one of the symptoms. She has medication to deal with these symptoms, but due to her age and the type of medication, our GP will only prescribe 1 or 2 tablets at a time and won’t prescribe unless she’s actually having a flare up, so we can’t keep some in the house just in case.

Recently, while she was having a flare up, getting the medication through our surgery was nigh on impossible

We don’t need an appointment, we just need the medication. I emailed - no reply to any of them. Used the e-consult form - no response at all. Tried to call for about 2 hours - just rang out. Eventually phone was answered and I explained what I needed, I was told that there were no appointments until the end of November. Explained we don’t need an appointment, DD is prescribed the medication regularly, we just need a prescription. Was told off for not managing our repeat prescription properly - pointed out that GP won’t give us a repeat prescription. Told to go to the pharmacy - pharmacist can’t help. I asked if a message could be passed to GP so he could prescribe the medication required so we could pick it up - point blank no. Told to go to A&E if it was that bad.

I rang 111 and they sent us to our Urgent Treatment Centre - was in and out 2 minutes having seen a very bemused Dr who couldn’t work out why our surgery couldn’t just prescribe the medication as it’s clearly on DD’s notes. He gave us box of the tablets so we don’t need to keep going through the same rigmarole.

I know they’re busy, I understand how bad it is at the moment, but we have to access medical attention somehow.

julieca · 25/10/2021 15:31

@Pyewackect

If you had to pay £50 to see a doctor but you could see them immediately or at your convenience, would you ? I would.
Nope. I am terrible at going to the GP at the best of time. I simply would not go. My dad would stop going for cardiac care. He has confusion and is hard enough to get to the GPs anyway. Middle-class people would get more and better health care. Those who already have worse health i.e. poorer people, would get worse health care.
OakPine · 25/10/2021 15:34

DO you think the Royal Family have such a poor standard of care?
Do you think Boris has such a poor standard of care?
Do you think they get told to phone again in the morning?

GPs are doing themselves no favours. They need to up their game and do the job they are being paid their over inflated salaries for!

Hope you get the care you need xx

julieca · 25/10/2021 15:35

@Pyewackect the issue is a lack of GPs. We either increase medical care staff, or we restrict access to medical care. Getting people to pay would restrict access to medical care. It would also increase pressure on A and E.
My dad had kidney injury last year. The symptoms are vague. It took a lot of persuasion to get him to the GP. He was immediately admitted to hospital for a week. He would never have gone to the GP if there was a charge.
And plenty of people to avoid paying would just go straight to A and E. If money is tight, an 8 hour wait at A and E is worth saving £50.

julieca · 25/10/2021 15:35

@OakPine you are an ignorant idiot.