To think if you have a waiting room full of patients you dont talked a phone call for over half an hour....

[RhubarbMustard]

....leaving people sat there for over half an hour after their due appointment time. Don't know it makes a difference, but it's a private appointment not nhs. Made appointment at this time so I was able to pick up son. Aibu to be bastard furious?

it's rude but do you know that her phone call was delaying you?

they could have a system where a light flashes or a message appears on her screen when it's time for the next patient to go in.

Was it a private phonecall? If so YANBU, but if it was to another patient or HCP then YABU.

They're not psychic, I'm sure they weren't aware of how long it'd take. Although I get that it must be frustrating.

It depends what the phone call was - even private healthcare providers deal with emergencies and unexpected issues. A personal call would be inappropriate, but I would have left if I thought someone was chatting to a pal whilst I was waiting to be seen.

Just because it's private, it doesn't mean that there wasn't someone else the doctor needed to talk to/about more urgently than you.

Suppose you rang him with a medical emergency. Would you prefer him to say, 'Can't talk to you now. I have patients waiting.'?

YANBU to feel annoyed and inconvenienced, but YABU if you aren't prepared to accept/understand that in a healthcare setting there is always the possibility of a more urgent case needing to be dealt with unexpectedly.

I am someone who runs a clinic. My daughter also suffers from terrible almost disabling migraines. Sometimes I have to take time out of my clinic to speak to the school nurse to decide what we are going to do if the standard meds don't work.
So far every single one of my clients who have had to wait because of this have been very understanding and kind.
There are also times when I have to suspend clinic to save a life again clients have been understanding.

I'd assume it was more urgent than me if that happened. Doesn't matter if it's private or NHS, more urgent should take priority.

Would you have felt better if the doctor had said to you "I've just been speaking to a patient of mine, she's got two young children, and I've been arranging for her to go into a Hospice because she's not expected to survive the weekend."

Or do you think he should have said to her devastated husband to wait because he had an ingrowing toenail to look at...