To complain about this doctors surgery

[frogspoon]

My local GP has an 8am-8pm walk in service 7 days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays.

This morning, I went to the GP this morning to get an urgent appointment. As it is a walk-in centre at the weekends, I was prepared to wait an hour or two (average wait is 1- 1 1/2 hours).

However when I arrived at 10:30, even though there were only 3 people waiting in the surgery (so about 30 empty seats) the receptionist told me that the doctor was "fully booked for the whole morning's surgery", and that I would need to come back at 1:00 to register (after the doctor's lunch break). They would not let me make an appointment for the afternoon in advance.

I came back at 12:50, expecting to be able to register and be able to see a doctor. When I arrived, the same receptionist told me that the doctor had only just gone on her lunch break, therefore would not be seeing patients until 2:00.

I asked the receptionist how, if at 10:30 only 3 patients were waiting to see the GP, how she had managed to take 2 1/2 hours to see them, unless she spent almost an hour on each patient. The receptionist then told me that a number of people who had come at 9:30 had been told to come back at 11:30, and be registered then.

So I am now very angry because the receptionist lied to me in telling me that the doctors list was full, and they were not accepting patients until 1:00, when actually they registered several at 11:30, and that they told me I should come back at 1:00 when actually I would still have to wait an hour before the doctor was accepting patients. I would rather they were honest with me at the start, and I would have gone somewhere else.

In the end I gave up, went to an Urgent Care Centre at the local hospital and was seen and treated within 45 minutes.

AIBU to complain, firstly because the receptionist lied to me, and probably to several other patients as well (I saw some very disgruntled people walking out of the surgery as I was walking in) and secondly because they are extremely inefficient. Sending patients away and telling them to come back later has not eased the demand at all, if anything it made it worse, because in the afternoon there was both the patients who had been told to come back later, and any new patients who had come in the afternoon.

no, I have taken in what you have to say.

Would it be fair to complain, not specifically about the receptionist (who probably was just following instructions from above), but how the whole system is stupid, as it is supposed to be a walk in centre, yet it was more of a walk out centre as they kept sending the patients home!

YABU. In fact you don't know you're born. Round here they just close up on Friday, leave us in the hands of the most dreadful out of hours service and put snotty posters up about people wasting the time of a and e.

Round here they just close up on Friday, leave us in the hands of the most dreadful out of hours service and put snotty posters up about people wasting the time of a and e.

Not entirely sure how you moaning about your lack of healthcare solves mine.

We have the same problem:

You cannot see a doctor at the weekend, and despite the surgery's claims of being a "walk-in" centre, neither can I.

You could still complain about the way they work it but I'm afraid the practise manager is unlikely to care. I can understand how frustrating it was for you but I expect they already know it's shit and simply don't have the resources to improve it.

Spotty, I really don't think it would take much in the way of resources to improve the system, just a bit of common sense.

For whatever reason, the surgery was short-staffed, which is unfortunate but probably no-one's fault (perhaps a doctor was off sick). However the way the surgery dealt with the situation was poor. All they did was tell people to come back later!

The surgery could have e.g. put a message on their phone switchboard, and on their website, to say that they were experiencing v high demand and wait was up to 4 hours. Some patients would call or check the website before visiting, and this message would put off some patients who were not urgently in need of a doctor.

A message outside the front door of the surgery saying there was a 4 hour wait would also prevent all the patients coming in and individually being told they would not be seen.

They should have also directed more people to the urgent care centre, as this would free up space. If they had told me at 10:30 that I would likely be seen faster in the urgent care centre 15 minutes away, I would have gone there straight away rather than at 1:30 after I had been turned away from the surgery a second time.

I think that the receptionist did mislead you by telling you you should return at 1pm and it sounds like they weren't clear about lunch arrangements at the surgery. This could be down to miscommunication or there could have been some kind of emergency that affected the previous arrangement. If you're seeking an apology and explanation then it might be worth complaining. But I would be realistic about what you can expect from the complaint.

I think that the receptionist did mislead you by telling you you should return at 1pm and it sounds like they weren't clear about lunch arrangements at the surgery. This could be down to miscommunication or there could have been some kind of emergency that affected the previous arrangement. If you're seeking an apology and explanation then it might be worth complaining. But I would be realistic about what you can expect from the complaint.

Surely if you get told to return in two and a half hours just to register to get in the queue you would go elsewhere, especially if it is only 15 minutes away? It's a shame they were so busy, but if it was me i would have gone elsewhere a lot sooner. Would you really have been satisfied by a sign on the door telling you the same information you were given by the receptionist (that there was a high demand and therefore a wait?)? Not worth wasting anymore of yr day on a complaint. If she was rude to you then go ahead, but otherwise I'd leave it.

Would you really have been satisfied by a sign on the door telling you the same information you were given by the receptionist (that there was a high demand and therefore a wait?)?

Except she didn't actually tell me that at all. She told me that I could come back at 1:00 and be seen then. She did not apologise for the wait, nor did she apologise when I came back at 1:00 only to find they still weren't able to register me until 2:00. If she had been honest and said to my face "The wait is 4 hours" at 10:30 in the morning I would have gone elsewhere sooner.

It's not really operating as a walk in centre is it ?

YANBU

I would be annoyed too.

They should be a normal walk-in centre where you just wait your turn.

Sending people away to come back is very inefficient. What if they go somewhere else and they don't come back? The doctor is sitting around with nothing to do and could be using this time see other patients who are waiting around at home!

dobbie said it all for me. before my current career i was a gp receptionist - the shite you take in that job for things that are not of your making is unbelievable. at least now as a police officer im paid well enough to take such crap.

i think your are lucky to have a walk in centre tbh. last weekend i developed an ear infection - first one ever. i rang the new 101 thing. totally and utterly useless - they told me to go to a chemist who told me to take sudafed. they would not book me in to see a doctor.
ear got really bad.
i went to minor injuries in the end, with a terribly infected ear, and am now totally deaf in that ear due to fluid behind the ear drum that may take weeks to go.
had to have 2 lots of antibiotics and codeine for the pain.

What a hideous badly run service. I think it was really bad you were told the wrong time in the afternoon particularly. All this waiting around for hours is madness. Why can't they just operate an appointments system that opens each morning at weekend.

I didn't say she told you that, she gave you that information. Two and a half hours is a wait. The obvious reason being that there is no space available, due to high demand. I honestly don't see why you need it spelling out by a receptionist? The whole system is inefficient yes, it's bloody annoying but I don't think that the receptionist is particularly in the wrong, as I would've read the situation as above and figured it out a lot sooner to go elsewhere. I have learnt my lesson after sitting in many many queues though.

I would definitely take it up with the practice manager surgeries do tend to take feedback seriously ime, it really does sound badly organised and obviously confusing and as I said, it's not a walk in surgery!
If you need weekend medical care again I would just go straight to the urgent care place, less fannying around.
Hope you're starting to feel better today.

I don't believe the receptionist lied to you. She was following instructions, most likely was told lunch will be from 12-1 so start registering again at 1oclock.

However, you have no idea what happened in the time that you left until you came back, the receptionist cannot help the fact the doctor had taken a later lunch than planned. Any number of emergencies could of arose in that time, or even simply all appointments could of ran over the time allotment.

I know it's not great as it delays your appointment, however, I don't see any point of complaining about the receptionist. Complain about the way the walk ins runs.

The trouble is that a belligerent patient can come along, refuse to leave and come back, instead wait quietly at the surgery, effectively jumping the queue.

I accept that the receptionist must have said something wrong about the checking in for the afternoon session but please remember GPs don't just actually see patients only. This morning I spent 3 hours dealing with patients (consulting and extra phone calls to them and the hospitals. One phonecall took 20 minutes to sort something out for a patient) I then spent 3 hours doing mail and repeat prescriptions. I never stopped all morning. We also have to fill in and survey ridiculous stuff to keep the government happy. So just because the GPs aren't seeing patients doesn't mean they are not busy.
Still doesn't excuse the receptionist though.

I meant that people who had appointments may have cancelled when you left so she was able to register some new walkins. Its not like she could have said to them sorry im not going to register you incase a lady comes back later...
Posters above are right, shes not going to be making the rules. She told you to come back at set time that she had been told. The doc didn't get to go to lunch when planned, not receptionist or docs fault, things happen. Docs dont just see patients, they have to ring patients, get test results, do followups. Some times the tens mins they get per patient runs over.
You were that desperate, you couldn't wait so you went elsewhere, but it weren't their fault..
Think you're lucky you even have that service. Have to go busy towncenter as i have to wait three weeks minimum to get into my surgery. Sometimes they turn people away if they're really busy or short staffed, things happen sometimes it cant always go as scheduled.
I would have waited if i was desperate to be seen as i know anything could happen. Iv waited three n half hours before just incase i could be seen.