GP surgery waiting rooms always empty

[99redballoonsgobyy]

This has probably been asked and answered on here before but just that really, When ever I take my elderly parent to an appointment or drop a prescription request form into our local surgery the waiting room is always empty maybe 1 or 2 people in on occasion but mostly usually empty. and why do GPs only see 12 patients per day it doesn't seem very many at 10 minutes per patient. What are GPs doing with most of there time these days if not seeing patients??

Signing repeat prescriptions, writing referral letters, making home visits and phone appointments. The list is endless.

Yep I have noticed the same here, I am in the South East.

What are they doing? not much, likely just on the phone all day.

Doing telephone appointments. Ours give the option and most people prefer telephone apparently (me included) unless it’s a can you look at this mole type thing.

Since Covid my GP does telephone triage before they give you an appointment so I reckon GPs are on the phone mostly.
They also have a shortage of GPs so there are probably less.

Ours will have f2f appointments until c10am then call back telephone appointments and decide who should be seen f2f, referred or prescribed. You have to call at 8:30 or 2 to get on the list to be called or seen.

What’s with all the GP bashing today? Second thread I’ve seen. There is a real shortage of them, if it was that cushy we’d have a surplus.

I think a lot is still telephone. When I booked then last appointment for DS I was given a choice and I quite like that, I could see doctor face to face if I wanted to but for some things a telephone appointment is more convenient for both patient and doctor

They’re sitting in their rooms watching TV, eating biscuits and playing Tetris of course.

Meanwhile back in the real world they’re calling approximately 30- 60 patients a day, doing nursing home and palliative care home visits, paperwork, prescriptions, chasing and expediting referrals on patients behalfs, medicals, and bringing down patients that actually need to be seen (not as many as you might think). As well as delivering Covid vaccine programmes still (we’re doing the children now) and planning autumn flu/covid programmes. As well as running a business so financial and management meetings.

Oh and we are still supposed to be socially distancing our waiting rooms, so have to stagger bringing patients in so we don’t overfill the waiting rooms along with patients seeing the nurses, phlebotomists and other HCPs.

Phone appointments.

Please can I have one of these jobs where you have 12 patients per day?

@Plumtreebob I've not started the thread as a GP bashing thread just a general question out of curiosity. years ago the same gp surgery waiting room was always full one person in the room after another now it's only 12 patients per day including the telephone call appointments. Is there maybe lots more paperwork (typing up on a computer these days obvs!)involved with being a gp these days?

And yes definitely only 12 per day at our surgery we are told by the receptionist. If you ring at 8am and are number 20 in the queue you may aswell hang up and try the next day.

There may also be additional space allowed between appointments for cleaning. Certainly still the case at dentist, with minimal numbers in the waiting rooms.

I get what you mean op. All of my local gp’s are pretty much empty. And for the people writing all the lists that gp’s have to keep busy with, they had all that to do pre Covid and the waiting rooms were still full then.

They are on the phone to them instead of seeing them. Our GP won't allow anyone to book a F2F appt, you have to have telephone triage first. Even if you have an issue that quite obviously needs to be seen, in person. Because why do one F2F appt when you can waste a bit of time on a phone call first, to tell them you need to see them F2F actually. Efficient, eh

Funnily enough a friend made the very same observation just this morning and we concluded that they were probably on telephone calls.

@99redballoonsgobyy - I doubt that 12 patients includes emergency on the day appointments

Same at our surgery too.

Presumably the patients being seen are in the rooms with the nurses, Drs etc....

Is it 12 emergency slots but more pre-booked appointments?

My GP surgery has 18 consulting rooms downstairs, with at least half a dozen more upstairs (for phlebotomists etc).

On the two occasions I have had an appointment in the last 2 and a half years, I have been the only person in the massive waiting room, which has around fifty seats. DH has a heart condition and has to see a GP more often, and he's said the same.

It's like the Marie Celeste.

Fwiw 12 patients a day is the SAFE number if pxs GPS should see in a day

When they are seeing 25 people, they are putting themselves and the patients at risk (from a mistake). I am nit sure why anyone would want that tbh.

And YY about telephone consultations which are still used a lot seeing that many people absolutely love them.

I haven’t seen a doctor for years, just a Nurse Practitioner. I did see one of the doctors I. The office getting something, so he was working.
My previous two doctors went part time, and then left. They don’t need to work full time on their pay

Ours has been like this for a few years before covid so it's not all down to covid but obvs covid has made it worse. maybe the 12 is just for the emergency appointments as you can still book a routine appointment but with a wait of 5-6 weeks to be seen. Surely not all can be telephone appointments, we are in a large city.Just Cannot understand the empty waiting rooms in such a large city.