On hold for doctors. WTAF?

[RadioactiveWear]

Jesus.

I rarely use a doctor, thankfully.
It’s a Wed late morning, and I’ve been on hold for 45 mins in a queue to ask for an appointment.

WTF?

I have never waited anything like that to get through to my Dr, I will admit I do have an awesome Dr's surgery. I would advise asking to speak to the Duty Dr. I'm in Scotland and if we call and ask to speak to Duty Dr they have 2 hours to call you back, not sure if it applies but it's worth a try

I think it depends on the system used by the surgery and the number of doctors available in different practices etc. My husband is a GP and they have a lot of trouble finding a new GP when they need to recruit and some areas are even more desperately short staffed. My DH's surgery operate a system called AskmyGP where it is mostly done online / phone (if someone doesn't have online access) and they deal with everyone who needs a doctor on the same day either by phone, video appointment or face to face if they need seeing.

My DH starts at 8am in the morning and is rarely home before 8pm and he stops once for coffee in the morning but not for lunch. He sometimes deals with 65 patients in a day. He wants to retire asap and he is in his fifties. Most surgeries are managing the best they can under very stressful circumstances and the government can't just impose new rules without any support or idea about how it can be done.

It's fast becoming that with the race to the bottom

I did an e-consult and got a message saying the doctor will phone me on 30th March. Ridiculous.

Maybe though you live in what is sometimes thought by some as a third world country ? Maybe it is classed as a "high income country" and only nationals benefit from free health care like many other citizens of that area - maybe free land, free utilities , free grant on marriage, free education etc? These benefits are passed onto their citizens although there may be other limited freedoms. If the UK had cheap foreign labour for building facilities and staffing them maybe we would too have a fabulous health service.

@RadioactiveWear a new GP contract has just been signed to try to sort these issues out.

www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/changes-to-the-gp-contract-in-2023-24/

Wow….MN and posters are so helpful for all sorts of advice
Your experience makes me realise its worth checking out doctors before we decide to move.

It’s not just Doc Martin

Came back from overseas last year and this is the one thing that I find utterly frustrating here. Cannot see a doctor and cannot get my DC an NHS dentist.

I’m sorry but you’re wrong on all accounts apart from the free education.

@RadioactiveWear I lived in rural Bangladesh for 3 years as a young child (due to father's work). It was then referred to as a '3rd World Country', the acceptable term now is "Developing Nation".

My older brother nearly died after he had an allergic reaction to a insect bite. The nearest English speaking Doctor was 200 miles away.

Research other surgeries. Ours doesn't have this system, I'm glad to say.

Now you know that is not true. Free or subsidised.

If the UK had cheap foreign labour for building facilities and staffing them maybe we would too have a fabulous health service

The majority of our health service is staffed by local medics and for eg our national nurses account for 97 percent of the nurses in the country. Doctors are at about 84 percent. In fact the very first of the National Drs and other medics are in their 60’s and now retired.

I think people have to understand times have moved on and the ideas they have regarding certain things are outdated.

Marriage grant?? Free land??. Free Utilities 😂. And I’m laughing at the latter because in order to save on my average 1100 pounds a month electricity bills I’ve just had solar energy installed at home.

Im very sorry to say this but you really are a cliche with your ridiculous stereotyping.

I know that some of this is changing but I have looked at the actual specific documents.

Goady little bitchplop and run from the op
wind em up and watch em go

Completely free. We don’t even pay tax.

Now we both know that isn’t true. But there you go. I can understand you’re embarrassment at being put straight on you’re outdated stereotypical nonsense.

No you haven't at all.

You’re being even more ridiculous. And again I know it’s because your nonsense was challenged and you’re probably not used to that.

And as for forums this is the only one I post on but you do realize that you’ve just proved yourself to be a stalker and creep as well as a stereotypical cliche.

And it really is better if you leave your nonsense at this point as you’re not coming across very well and are more desperate each time you post b

No that really isn't the case.

In all fairness, you also pay for the NHS. It’s not free. You just pay for your healthcare differently

Jesus Christ. Please tell me it's been & gone hours ago?