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Original poster

Does your GP surgery phone when they say they will?

44 replies

Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 15:22

Just a bit fed up.

I completed the econsult form on Monday morning, logged on and saw that an apt had been made for GP to call me at 12.30pm today.

Rearranged my work meetings to be available to take the call - basically freed myself up from 12pm in case she was running late.

GP called at 10.20am (when I was in the meeting that I'd rescheduled to be able to keep the appointment). I couldn't answer, so received text saying that she couldn't connect but would call me tomorrow morning.

I phoned surgery to ask if any idea of time, and no as they don't give exact times due to clinical flow.

Except they had given me an exact time.

So, having thought I had an appointment and made myself available, I'm now expecting a phone call at some unspecified time which I don't know whether I'll be able to take or not.

This is why A&E is so rammed, isn't it?

OP posts:
Musicaltheatremum · 09/12/2021 15:29

Ugh...annoys me so much. I had similar. Told was first on list so 2pm ish....3 pm came and went and was told I should have been given a time frame of 2-6pm.

I told GP I thought it wasn't helpful...

I am a GP and we give patients a time but explain that it could be 20 minutes either way as phone calls take longer than f2f. If I call early and you don't answer I will always call back nearer the time.

Yellow85 · 09/12/2021 15:30

Usually get a 2 hour window and pretty good at calling within that.

LizzieSiddal · 09/12/2021 15:32

we usually get a window rather than a specific time and I actually don’t mind if they phone outside that window. If I am in a meeting I excuse myself to take the Drs phone number.
General practice is in crisis, I think we have to be flexible tbh.

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LizzieSiddal · 09/12/2021 15:32

*phone call

Franklin12 · 09/12/2021 15:36

Sorry, I dont think we need to be THAT flexible. My DM and myself had two phone appointments. Mum's was just over an hour late and mine was between 1400-1800.

If I tried that in my role people would laugh at me.

They are making up more and more complex rules to suit their own requirements.

Original poster
Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 15:36

I was being flexible LizzieSiddal - that's why I rescheduled my day to fit around the GP possibly calling any time from 12pm.

I also wouldn't have minded her calling early on the off-chance, then back again nearer the time scheduled.

In my line of work, I can't just walk out to take a phone call with no warning.

OP posts:
Goldi321 · 09/12/2021 15:38

GP too. My practice, annoyingly, doesn’t give patients a time just AM or PM for a call back (I have no sway in this). The receptionists will out helpful things in the apt reason box like “please call after 4pm” and I will always try to stick to that. I also do call 3 times as I know what it is like when you have been waiting all morning and finally nip to the loo and that’s when your phone rings.
We are having to triage a lot as well. I may have to call someone who is last on the list first due to clinical need. I know it must be really frustrating and I think my practice are one of the better ones from hearing others experiences.
We are seeing an upsurge in people booking apts in advance and then not answering after 3+ attempts, plus voicemails left on mobile and home numbers. It’s taking me so much time, when a F2F who DNA saves time as you don’t spend time chasing.

Original poster
Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 15:39

Also, if it was a f2f apt, the GP wouldn't call me in 2 hours early for an appointment then wonder why I wasn't in the waiting room, would she?

A time window I could manage or, if I couldn't manage it, postpone the call to a day when I could manage a time window.

Telepathically knowing that a GP will call more than two hours early is beyond me though.

OP posts:
IAmHereForTheFood · 09/12/2021 15:39

You just get added to the call list where I work and told ‘sometime this morning’, which is actually up to 1ish, or ‘sometime this afternoon’ which is from 2:30 onwards.

Officially it’s up to 6pm for our surgery but a Dr has phoned DH at 7pm before now.

It’s hard to predict an exact time as one call could take 6 minutes but another one -which results in an urgent referral, email to consultant or call to the hospital or whatever- could take 25 minutes. Then there are the people who need a F2F appointment that the Drs think will be a 10 min examination but end up with an ambulance call, paperwork needing typing and printing and the patient sending along to hospital or urgent blood tests… it all adds delays to their call list.

emmathedilemma · 09/12/2021 15:39

Ours give you a specific time but in my experience it doesn't mean much! It's been at least an hour each way of the time they gave me and I only caught one call because a meeting had finished early.

Original poster
Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 15:42

I appreciate that it's hard to predict an exact time for a phone call, hence being given a call window that I could work around or postpone until a day when I could work around would be useful.

OP posts:
PlinkPlankPlunk · 09/12/2021 15:46

I’m afraid my GP’s surgery is really rubbish about this. There is a box on their contact form in which you write the times you are NOT available, and I swear it’s like a target fixation for them - without fail the call will arrive at that time.

They have a policy where they will try twice, and then you get struck off the call list. So last time the GP called once within the only two-hour slot that I was unavailable because of work (across a five day range), then called back five minutes later, and that was that. I had to do another contact form and wait another five days for confirmation that I would get a call, within a further five day range…

I don’t know what the answer is but just reading the form might be a good start. I know that they are pressed for time (we all are) but this takes up more resources in the long term

CoffeeWithCheese · 09/12/2021 15:47

Been waiting for a call all day (it's now 4pm). I have somewhere to be at 5.30pm so they'll invariably call then. It's a much worse system than having an appointment physically there - even with a long wait - as this just takes over your entire day waiting for the phone to ring.

MarmitesMyMate · 09/12/2021 15:55

My gp is fab.
I had one day I could answer all day except 2 to 4 and they called outside of that.

Or once when I knew they'd have to listen to dc3s breathing and they'd ask me to go. I explained that the call would have to ideally be early enough, in case they wanted to see me as at 4pm I had to take eldest for a college event.
When gp called she was aware so asked me to go at 1pm do I'd be out in time tk grab dc3s prescription and get to college for 4.

Fuss · 09/12/2021 16:28

I've had 2 phone consults in the last 12 months. The first was the day after they said they were calling me (I changed GP not long after that, it was the straw that broke it for me) and the other was a 3 hours after my time slot.

MoiraNotRuby · 09/12/2021 16:33

My GP called me today with no appointment, just to follow up on how DC is, who had a phone appointment earlier this week. I was amazed, and very grateful. Never met such a thorough and proactive GP.

girlmom21 · 09/12/2021 16:35

The calls get sorted between the GP's then they triage them themselves.

You're lucky that she's phoning tomorrow, to be fair.

Ours don't give us a timeframe - just tell us they'll call on a specific day.

PositiveLife · 09/12/2021 16:38

At ours it can be any time in the day. If you book it online then you choose a time slot but it doesn't mean anything (it's just how the website works). They must end up taking extra calls because people aren't psychic - there's nothing explaining this on the website.

Original poster
Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 16:59

Um, why am I lucky girlmom21?

I contacted the surgery on Monday and made myself available for the appointment time offered.

The GP didn't keep this appointment. I don't know whether I'm going to be able to take the call when it comes tomorrow, which puts me back to square one on Monday.

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 09/12/2021 17:00

@Twitterwhooooo because most GP's are doing any-time calls and if you don't answer you've missed your slot.

If you need the appointment you'll make sure you're available to answer it.

Original poster
Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 17:02

I was available at the appointment time, that's exactly my point.

OP posts:
CoffeeWithCheese · 09/12/2021 17:02

Still waiting for our GP...

girlmom21 · 09/12/2021 17:05

@Twitterwhooooo

I was available at the appointment time, that's exactly my point.
If you're available to take the call tomorrow ask them how the online bookings work. The time slots are probably just so they're not over-booked. They're probably not actually even trying to adhere to them.
Original poster
Twitterwhooooo · 09/12/2021 17:05

I know... I do appreciate that they're extraordinarily busy and trying to navigate this transition to NHS digital and everything.

But I can't be more flexible than moving the rest of my life around to make an appointment time that they offered me.

OP posts:
FinallySomeNormality · 09/12/2021 17:05

Nope we get "doctor will call you Tuesday" and if you have the audacity to enquire as to when on Tuesday to expect the call, the receptionist barks at you that they're very busy and it's impossible to put a time on it Hmm (but they found it perfectly possible to do so when appointments were F2F pre Covid...)