I live in a modest sized city, I work fulltime shifts, and have 2 DCs (planned). I'm still frustrated by an experience I had on Thursday morning, to the point where I'd like some outside perspective.
Basically I'm amazed that the UK doesn't have a higher rate of teen pregnancy / unwanted pregnancy based on my surprisingly crap experience of the family planning services I've interacted with in the last few days.
To summarise:
- Always used pill (lately condoms) but have always been sick off the faff, and so DH and I have agreed to look at more "suitable" options for a while
- Last month, I called to book GP surgery appointment for coil fitting for any time in any week (I can book time off work, get DH to do DC pickup, if I know the date in advance)... surgery helpfully advises that since they can only fit those on Fri mornings before 1pm, due to staff availability, it'll be at least a month before I can get it done. They advise I go to the dedicated family planning centre instead.
- I call family planning, they tell me they don't give appointments for non-urgent/routine stuff, it's a walk-in place every morning weekdays. Sounds fab!
- I book a day off work for 3 weeks later.
- I arrive at the clinic at 8.20am, ten mins before opening time, to a queue at the door. I don't get an appointment that day. I do get offered to speak to a nurse. I join that queue then. When I get called to speak to the nurse, she realises I'm non-urgent (as in, I don't need to be seen that day) and I am told to come back later in the week and try again to arrive earlier. She offers me some free condoms, though.
- I book another day off work, for this Thursday. I arrive at the clinic at 8am (half an hour before opening), but due to staff training in the morning they have even less slots available than the time before, so again after speaking with the nurse on duty, who again realises that I'm not an emergency, she advises me to try again another day. She also offers me some free condoms. As I walk out the door, there's a girl talking to the receptionist who is getting quite distressed, saying that she's been there since 8am, has university lectures at 1pm, and still hadn't been seen, and was there anything the receptionist can to do ensure she's seen before 12.30 please.
Now, whilst all the staff I've spoken to have been lovely, they are working within very strict procedures and have a limited ability to influence things. I know this.
But... my experience of simply trying to access family planning services has been quite shocking - I've now booked the next available appointment at my GP surgery for one Friday at the end of October, so at least I'm guaranteed to be able to get it done. But it has been quite a waste of time and delay to realise that's what I'd have to resort to.
AIBU to be surprised that this is the level of "service" people get if they want NHS family planning care? I can't help but feel that if I were younger, barriers to reliable, long term contraception would be a huge problem. Luckily I'm in a position that I can drive and have the ability to re-arrange shifts at work, and have a DH to help with childcare, for me to access these services. But if I was younger, couldn't drive, or lived remotely... what do people do?
Or is my city just exceptionally crap at this stuff? (Or maybe I just caught them on a particularly poor week)