Waiting room times - how long should you wait?

[Chiavennasca]

I’m currently sat in my dentist waiting room for an appointment at 12.30. It’s 12.34 as I write this. I’m on my lunch break from work.

How late do you think is acceptable? Not just for my situation but for any waiting room appointment scenario - how long would you wait before saying something?

my dentist has a sign up to say if you’ve been waiting 20mins or more after your appointment time to speak to a receptionist. Usually it’s because a patient has taken slightly longer than planned. But to be fair it’s very rare they run that late 10 mins at most. So I’m fairly lucky

Hmm. Not true in the case of our Dentist!

My last two appointments I have been kept waiting for well over half an hour beyond my booked time, with an empty waiting room.

First one I was the first appointment of the morning, and I could hear the dental nurse and Dentist discussing an upcoming trip to Australia! Had to have a word with reception and told them what I could hear! Very red faced and apologetic I was seen immediately. This is not on, and would have lead to delays all day long, for each onward appointment.

The second time (two days ago) the Dentist was in her room with NO patient, and even receptionist was dumbfounded.

It is unavoidable in some instances, yes, but issues like I have mentioned are completely unacceptable.

So when they’re consoling a patient who’s just been told they’ve got terminal cancer and the timer goes off they just chuck them out? Really caring.

Both the GP surgery and dental surgery in our town have signs up asking that you don’t approach reception unless you have been waiting 30 minutes beyond your appointment time.

Recently had to wait 40 minutes past my appointment time at the GP. They were busy so I just dealt with it and didn’t say anything. I was going to give it up to an hour, any longer and I would have had to leave to pick my son up from preschool.

No surprise really, they generally run late. What are they meant to do … turf someone out the seat because their time is up 🤷🏻‍♀️
Avoid booking during a lunch break in future.

NHS or private? I am private and therefore expect to be seen on time for a service I am paying for! NHS, I think you unfortunately have to expect to wait.

They can't kick another client out of the room mid way through treatment, so they're ready when they're ready. If it's medical or dental you need it done so have to wait. Just being patient.

You can ask how long or where you are in a queue but otherwise it's wait or just leave which would waste more time as you'd still need the treatment?

I waited an hour a few weeks ago.

I went to my GP with pain in my side. I was in his room for about half an hour. He examined me thoroughly and did not let me leave until he was sure I would be seen immediately at A & E. It was an abscess and needed emergency surgery.
Next time was even longer. I had discomfort/pain with peeing. Another thorough examination with, I'm sure, irritated patients in the waiting room. Kidney cancer.
The GP did what was required. If that means other people have to wait, then it's tough.

Around 30 mins as someone else said if they have had an emergency to deal with there's not a lot they can do.

My dentist is always late, but he’s an NHS dentist, the same one I’ve had for about 25 years and works in a very deprived area. He’s also very pleasant, jokey and great at his job.

Ill wait as long as he takes.

our GP surgery has a screen which says if the HCP is running late and by how many minutes. Most I’ve seen in ten minutes,

It's definitely a nuisance but four minutes isn't exactly excessive. My gp used to be horrendous and I'd regularly have to wait for 2-3 hours. I think 30/40 minutes is as much as I would wait now excluding emergency situations

Today I had a patient with dementia in who got unusually confused and upset at the end of the appointment. It meant I ran 10 minutes late for my next patient. What should I do in future? Physically carry her crying into the waiting room so I don’t keep any one waiting a few extra minutes?

This. Slightly different case, cat taken in to the vets surgery as an emergency appointment because he was having problems breathing. Vet ended up draining four huge syringes full of gunk from around his lungs ( luckily they took him into a back room to do it, so didn’t have to watch, but saw the end product). It took at least 40 minutes and I was aware that there were other people with booked appointments in the waiting room. I went out and apologised to them all, and every single person smiled, and said don’t worry, we understand. I nearly burst into tears at their kindness and generosity of spirit.

it wasn’t a happy ending unfortunately, a very aggressive cancer, but I will always remember the vets determination and professionalism and the waiting room people for their understanding. I don’t complain if I am kept waiting, because I choose the option of believing that someone else needs that time more than me at that moment.

And incidentally, sometimes it works the other way, just came home from having an X-ray on my ankle at the walk in ( hobble in in my case!) x ray clinic. Fifteen minutes from booking in to walking out!

I had a hospital appointment last week that was 2 hours late... and no one apologised or said anything.

When medical appointments are almost exclusively during most people's working hours it makes it incredibly difficult and frustrating trying to juggle your own job when these delays happen.

I’ve waited two hours in x ray depts! My gp average time is one hour.

NHS or private? If private id probs expect slightly better in terms of service in timekeeping. But generally I allow at least 20 mins leeway for lateness with health related appointments, much more for hospital and GP.

As a former practice nurse I certainly remember one patient who I'd kept waiting for no more than 10 - 15 mins - she was so rude and gave me the biggest earful ever on time management. She had no idea at all what I'd been dealing with - emergencies/ mental health etc - I did my best and certainly didn't want to run late but you know it happens.

The next time I saw her I was on time but she was 10 mins late and apologised for being late - I just said not to worry and that we all run late occasionally. The irony but I always did wonder if she did it on purpose and of course I then ran late for the rest of my clinic. Not a patient I remember fondly.

Op must still be waiting ….

Unless they got to 4 mins 33 seconds and the dentist called them in ..

10-15 mins in I’d go ask as it could be they’re running late (most likely) or they might have missed you. Annoying when you are time pressured but sometimes appointments get complex and run over

NHS - I'd be amazed I even had an appointment and would never dare ask the receptionist about delays. They are fierce enough as it is. I do sometimes wonder if anyone has actually expired in the waiting room.

Private - I'd ask after 15 minutes if the delay was likely to be much longer. I am able always to schedule my appointments so a delay does not cause work problems but it is reasonable enough to say you need to call and warn work if you are likely to be late getting back.

I’ve had quite a lot of dermatology appointments at the hospital and there is a sign saying if you’ve been waiting for 20 mins past your appointment time to speak to someone. I’ve been between 20 mins to over an hour late going in and I don’t ask, they just always run late.

Conversely today I had an appointment at haematology at the hospital, I was about 25 mins early for my appointment just got settled down to read my book and I got called through, been seen and had my bloods done and out in 35 mins.

Agreed. If it gets past 20 mins and I'm under time pressure, I tend to go to reception and ask them how late they're running. If they say "oh you're next, or there's one more before you or whatever" then fine, if it is "there's been an emergency, it'll be about an hour" then I ask to reschedule.

I get what your saying but it’s a bit shit just to say ‘tough’ when the next person might have something just as, or more serious, than you but just has to wait or gets in trouble at work for being late back or had DC to pick up from nursery or school and so have to abandon the appointment to get their own health checked, making symptoms worse, and then get shit from the surgery for missing an appointment. The world doesn’t revolve around you.

I am sure if you had to wait over an hour to be seen at these appointments you wouldn’t have thought that it was just ‘tough’.