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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Why is it so bloody hard to get a Dr appointment??

75 replies

ginmakesitallok · 22/03/2012 11:09

So - called this am from 8. Got through at 8.04 - all morning appointments gone. Told to call back at 11 for pm appointment. Get through at 11.06 - all pm appointments gone. I can book an appointment- but will be 2 weeks til I get one, or try again tomorrow. FFS - no wonder people don't go unless it's an emergency.

OP posts:

Original poster

ginmakesitallok · 22/03/2012 12:09

Weee, I suppose it's either nothing important, in which case 1 extra day isn't going to matter. Or it's something terrible, in which case 1 days isn't going to matter.

OP posts:

Original poster

ginmakesitallok · 22/03/2012 12:10

"well" not "weee"!

OP posts:

shagmundfreud · 22/03/2012 12:11

I have had this experience MANY times at my surgery. It stinks doesn't it?

shagmundfreud · 22/03/2012 12:14

Meant to say - I now start phoning before the surgery opens and just keep hitting redial. Generally get a same day appointment this way.

LadyClariceCannockMonty · 22/03/2012 12:15

OP, I wouldn't want to wait two weeks for bleeding. Is there a walk-in centre near you? Apparently you can't go to the walk-in at the surgery you're registered at , but you can go to any other one. I had to go yesterday ? luckily there's one very near me ? and waited maybe twenty minutes to see the doctor, who was thorough, professional, and very nice certainly nicer than the cantankerous/patronising feckers at my own surgery.

I hope you get it sorted, anyway.

HintofBream · 22/03/2012 12:16

The asking for a phone call system is great and our surgery do it. I asked for one recently and unfortunately the bedside phone was on the bed with me and I had knocked the handset off so the GP could not get through. Doorbell rang, he had turned up in person to find out what the problem was. A lovely practice and we are very lucky. No doubt things will change thanks to Cameron and co.

Groovee · 22/03/2012 12:44

Our surgery changed the system to first come first served in the mornings and after that you can be offered a phone consultation where the GP can release extra emergency appointments.

Although after meeting some friends last week who said my "cold" sounded dreadful after 3 weeks and insisted I should see a GP, the receptionist was a pain but a GP did call me back and before the end of me finishing, he'd offered me an appointment and then diagnosed a chest infection. But glad I was able to be seen before the weekend.

CrunchyFrog · 22/03/2012 13:10

Ours has a new system that I hate - you ring, a doctor rings you back at some point within the next 4 hours, then decides if you need to be seen.

All fine, except only doctors can make even routine appointments. So for DS1's asthma review, I have had to ask for the doctor to ring even though she requested the damn review, go through everything again and then make an appointment. And she only works 2 days a week.

I took DS2 in yesterday with a slightly red throat and mild cold, BTW. Sometimes people have good reasons for seeing doctors with very minor symptoms.

Original poster

ginmakesitallok · 22/03/2012 13:10

No walk-in centres here. I've called them back and Dr is going to phone me. Just need to sit in and wait then....

OP posts:

RevoltingPeasant · 22/03/2012 13:15

Total thread hijack, so really sorry OP - but I have been having bleeding between periods since last July. Is it really that serious? I have told my GPs but they keep cancelling hte appointments etc so I have finally got one next month. Should I be pushing harder for this?

GravyAndALumpyMashBaby · 22/03/2012 13:22

Push harder Revolting
For bleeding I personally would request an emergency appointment.

RevoltingPeasant · 22/03/2012 13:26

They say they can't do an appt whilst it's going on as then they would not be able to do an internal examination (not really sure why!).

Will ring back - thanks.

ohdearwhatdoidonow · 22/03/2012 13:30

OP for bleeding - tell them it's an emergency. Similar with me last year, they got me in on the day when I explained what was happenning, and they took it very seriously!

ohdearwhatdoidonow · 22/03/2012 13:33

Sorry x posted - they GP is unlikely to do anything anyway apart from refer you, so the sooner you get in the sooner you get referred. I was V lucky. After months of worrying and another sleepless night, (am a bit phobic about health issues) I rang GP, got an immediate appointment, got a referral for a Gynae (Bupa at work), saw a Gynae the same day, diagnosed a cervical polyp and removed it there and then.

NiniLegsInTheAir · 22/03/2012 13:43

Our Docs is the same, never any appointments available for at least a week, if you push it they get an on-call doc to ring you back - every time I've done this I've always been asked to come in, I never ring the docs without a damn good reason.

Our surgery seems to have a very high % of eldery patients though, it's rare to see anybody below the age of about 60 when I go in. I have my own suspicions there too I'm afraid - during the very snowy month of Dec 2010 when I was heavily pregnant I was in and out of the surgery quite a lot. Every time I was in the place was dead and the receptionists kept saying it was because they had so few eldery patients coming in as the weather was bad. I do think some sectors of the community are more likely to get seen where we are (and yes I know when you're older an illness can be more severe).

dreamingbohemian · 22/03/2012 13:44

OP is there a GUM clinic near you?

I have never had a GP in the UK with a reasonable appointments system. It's baffling.

GravyAndALumpyMashBaby · 22/03/2012 13:47

Revolting any swabs they may want to take (for cells or to check that you don't have thrush/STD - not saying you have one!) would be ruined by the blood IIRC.

If it's been going on this long and they keep cancelling I would try and insist on speaking to someone about it today and making sure they agree to find an appointment for you as soon as you stop bledding.
The Drs I've worked for would never cancel an appointment for something like this.

Original poster

ginmakesitallok · 22/03/2012 13:51

Gravy - but what about women who have constant bleeding? Surely there must be something they can do?

OP posts:

higgle · 22/03/2012 14:47

This is a ridiculous situation - GPs are well paid and yet they seem to have no idea whatsoever ( or inclination) to meet the needs of their patients.

In the last month I have had to arrange two emergency dentist's appointments (NHS) and on both occasions was seen the next morning. I have also had to arrange emergency vet's appointments and they seem more than happy to see you on a Sunday morning if it is urgent ("I'm on call so I may as well be doing something" - wish GP would say that!)

Goinbg back just over 10 years I was driving past my GPs surgery in the area I used to live and DS2 was moaning about a constant pain in his leg, I said that I would just stop and look at the surgery opening hours on the door and as I was standing there our GP - who had just locked up - came out of the car park in his car. He asked what was wrong and happily opened up again and saw DS2 then and there. That sort of thing just doesn't happen now.

frumpet · 22/03/2012 15:15

OP do you also get charged a fortune for the pleasure of finding out there are no appointments ?

GravyAndALumpyMashBaby · 22/03/2012 15:54

gin
The only time I've come across that at work was once and IIRC the Dr sent an emergency referral for an ultra sound (was a while ago though.)
And I worked for an unusually good practice. (Shame I can't transfer to them myself :( )

Did the GP call you back gin?

GladysLeap · 22/03/2012 17:19

Where we used to live we had the same system so I never bothered going to the GP for myself. Just as well we moved really or I may not have found out I had cancer until it was too late.

I was ridiculously chuffed when I last rang our new GP at 11am and they said "can you get here for 11.30".

Original poster

ginmakesitallok · 22/03/2012 18:18

nope -never called me back. So looks like it's appointment roulette again tomorrow, which is a pain in the ass as I've got loads to do tomorrow and could do without fitting in a GP appointment.

I would change GPs but I work with NHS and work with quite a few of the practices, so would feel uncomfortable being a patient with them.

OP posts:

wonkylegs · 22/03/2012 18:39

Sorry you are having a hard time but unfortunately I think everybody think GPs are routinely rubbish because we only ever mention it when they are crap. Occasionally I can't get an appointment in the week I phone but as mine are usually for meds (I can't do routine repeat prescriptions due to a monitoring aspect) they will usually bend over backwards to sort me out. Today I phoned at lunchtime and said can I have an appointment sometime between now and next weds .... Have one tomorrow lunch time.

GravyAndALumpyMashBaby · 22/03/2012 18:44

oh no that is crap. Ask for an emergency appoint. tomorrow gin. And make sure they know you were supposed to be called back for an emerency assessment today.
Have you tried calling NHS direct for some advice from the nurses? They've always been brill for me when OOH of the surgery.
Hope you get it sorted!

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