To get a GP call today it took me......

[debbs77]

Call the GP to be told there are no appointments left but to try the pharmacy, "sounds like a UTI and they can help"

Go to pharmacy.....can't help.

Ring for afternoon GP appointment, nope none left, but can send you the link for Push Doctor to book a video consultation? No appointments til monday 3pm.

Try a different pharmacy, can help but don't have the antibiotics I need. Recommends another pharmacy. Go there. He says it is an upper UTI and he can't give strong enough antibiotics for that.

Ring another pharmacy to see if that was just that one pharmacist but no, he can't either. Suggests 111 to get a clinician to call me.

Ring 111. He books.....wait for it.....for MY GP TO CALL ME.

Couldn't write this stuff.

In the meantime, my wee is a funky yellow colour, and my daughter walked in (adult daughter) and says "blimey your eyes look yellow". Good timing as the GP rang just after so I told him that too.

Being booked in next week for an appointment for an abdominal scan and maybe blood tests.

No pain tonight currently thankfully xx

Saw my lovely GP yesterday, appointment booked about three weeks ago. Good consult, then asked her how she was on my way out. Her 83 year old mother had been stuck on a chair for 23 hours in a hospital in the Midlands, no trollies available! She said that NHS is falling apart, not enough doctors and nurses, but lots of managers. This echoes what my stepdaughter says, she's a consultant in a hospital in East London

Fortunately I rarely get UTIs. The last time I did (30+ years ago! I did say I rarely get them) I was in so much pain and it was a Sunday so I went to a&e.

I hope you have been seen by now.

The problem here is not the NHS itself, it is the blimey GP! They just seem to have developed a talent to ignore patients since 5-6 years ago, at least around here.
It is almost impossible to book an appointment and when you finally get one, they are not as pro-active as the ised to be. They used to see you straight away for UTIs. They would address these things quickly, so they do not end up with people in hospital. Now, I hear quite scary stories about people getting serious compliations from lack of care. This puts a lot of costs and pressure in the NHS, the poor patient, workplace, schools.....
Somebody needs to change the whole GP system so they get to care properly for their patients. As the first point of contact, they should be providing better care than send you to the pharmacists (with upper UTI) or giving you an appointment for quite a few days later.
You do need to be checked now, given antibiotics for the infection if there is one and further checked for the reasons you have yellow eyes (likely to be due to liver difficulties).

it is not the GPs, surely it is the lack of GPs
in order to survive they need to combine with another practice or two, share the load

I hate e- triage forms and apps and anything that means you have to use a phone/ computer. They are weeding out the very patients most likely to need appointments - the old and infirm!
( Maybe that’s the point..)
Fingers crossed the government responsible for this whole shit show will be gone gone gone in a few months .

Doctor was wonderful. Heading Off to the hospital for bloods and hopefully a scan. Likely overnight (first time away from my breastfed toddler so feeling emotional!). My adult daughter is still at home so will look after her xx

I am so glad the doctor took it seriously, I am wishing you all the 'good health' vibes in the world!

How are you doing OP?

My mum had the runaround with a UTI as well. And then, having got antibiotics, trying to get a treatment for thrush as she is too old to buy it over the counter.

I will say though, that I used her surgery's version of e-consult for her this week, and she had a text with a prescription to collect the following morning. So sometimes things do work!

All the best for a speedy recovery OP.

I agree requiring people to use the forms and only the forms are a breach of the Equality Act. I have had to fill it in for my mum several times now. But it's not for her to make reasonable adjustments by asking me to do it, it's for her surgery to make reasonable adjustments! The receptionist has done it for her a couple of times.

My mum isn't techphobic, she uses the NHS app, but the online form isn't easy to use, and because it's only on for a few hours on a weekday, I can't show her how to use it very easily as I am usually visiting her at the weekend. I will say though that at least hers stays on between 8-4, I know a lot of surgeries turn them off when they are "full".

do they have an ideas why op?

Update......thanks for the wishes.

Had bloods taken which show jaundice but no infection. There wasn't time to be scanned today so I'm home.

But back in for 10am tomorrow for a scan. They're thinking it's a gallbladder attack so will possibly need surgery xxx

You poor thing. I had something similar OP, when I hurt my foot. So it doesn’t surprise me.

Ricocheting between practice nurse, various “triad” receptionists and admin, a GP and accident and emergency and x/ray dept, sone by phone, some in person. What should have taken one or two appointments and a couple of hours at most took 3 ducking days and loads of stress - and actual tears as no-one gave a 4X just try a offload me somewhere else plus alot of pain as having to walk on hurt foot all that time.

It seems they would do anything rather than LET you see a doctor. A case of too many Indians and not enough chiefs. It doesn’t even work out cheaper, as you have to see so many people.

I’d put a complaint in to GP practice manager.

Just to go against the grain…our GP practice has been absolutely impossible to see anyone, nurse or Dr from Covid onwards. However they installed a new online triage system about 6 months ago and it seems to have worked wonders. Most of the time you don’t actually need an appointment, just a referral to the specialist or scan etc. I’ve had a reply almost instantly and always within an hour. It’s a revelation. Hope it’s rolled out everywhere!

You poor thing OP. Thats awful. Posts like yours make me so angry at how the NHS is being fucked up.

I have a letter telling me that if my gynae symptoms reappear, the gynae consultant wants to see me again. (A D&C and minor surgery sorted things last time round, but the issue often returns and can develop into cancer.)

They have reappeared. Phoned the consultant's secretary. "You need to be referred via your GP."

Phoned surgery. "You'll have to try phoning at 8.30 for an emergency appointment."

Good luck!! Glad you getting sorted.

The GP receptionist rung up my dh to tell him to make an appointment to review a scan he had done last week.
He asked her when the appointments were and was told to look online or ring up at 8am or queue up in the morning , she couldn't do it over the phone. Fair enough that she told him he needed an appointment, but didn't know anything about what was available.
By pushing everything back onto the person is the only way they can then absolve any responsibility or make people end up in an and e when you discover the next appointment is weeks away ( as I overheard someone saying to the GP receptionist when they were told there was nothing available for weeks )
This was for an elderly lady who sounded very poorly and I guess that was a long wait up there.

I was in my surgery at one point dropping off a repeat prescription request and asked the receptionist on the desk if I could book a routine appointment for something. She told me I had to go home and use the online system.
But she was sitting there literally doing nothing at the time!

Update....

Booked in for gall bladder surgery tomorrow morning! Feeling lucky to get this sorted so fast xx

Oh good. Ya they dont mess about when jaundice sets in usually. Good luck!

I'm very grateful. Two people in there have suffered for months

You were sicker than you realised.

Definitely appears so.

Does anyone have any recommendations for post surgery in terms of remaining comfortable? I'm sure I've heard that people struggle when they've have a laparoscopy (hoping they opt for doing it that way) due to the air put in to the abdomen

Post surgery - hot water bottle or wheatie bag to relieve the trapped gas. A pillow for the car ride home to support with any bumps, sneezes, etc.

Some people bounce back quickly, with others it can take a while to recover.