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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Gp walk in clinic

14 replies

Dinopaws1987 · 26/10/2014 11:20

My gp has a walk in clinic every morning. For things that cant wait for a standard appointment.

I attended walk in the other day, and as part of my appointment i was weighed and had my blood pressure checked. She agreed there was something the matter and arranged a referral and prescription. Confirms i attended with good reason.

I remembered i had an appointment coming up in the next week for a check up for new prescription for the contraceptive pill. They literally check blood pressure and weigh you for these appointments.

I mentioned this to my gp, and asked if possible could she add my pill to the prescription she was already doing for me. She did not need to do anything else.

I explained i thought it would save an appointment for somebody who needed it more as my weight and bp had just been checked so wasn't sure if another appointment would be wasted on me?

Well, she tutted and grumbled and slammed her pen down in frustration. Said i was wasting precious time in walk in for non important things. I was not forceful, i even said i would attend next week if it was a problem for her, i just thought freeing up a slot would be handy for them!

I left (with a pill prescription that took seconds to do) feeling very confused!

Wibu to SUGGEST (not insist) adding this to my prescription?!

OP posts:

Graciescotland · 26/10/2014 11:25

I think appointments are for one thing only generally but meh totally get your point that there's not much point wasting your time and theirs for the sake of a two second repeat perscription.

pudcat · 26/10/2014 11:32

And I bet if you hadn't asked and turned for the appointment next week you would have been in the wrong, and been told you could have asked for the repeat prescription then.

LittleRedDinosaur · 26/10/2014 11:34

I'm a GP and I totally agree with you. I can only guess that the GP thought that doing a pill check in an urgent appointment sends out the message that it would be ok to use these appointments for pill checks in the future... I think it would have been pretty obvious that you were trying to save everyone time and think she was being a bit of an arse.

Original poster

Dinopaws1987 · 26/10/2014 11:35

Exactly my thoughts! I left feeling like a naughty told off little girl!

OP posts:

Caravanoflove · 26/10/2014 11:40

As a doctor I can understand both your viewpoints. Your experience of a repeat contraceptive review is weigh, BP check on and on our way- a few mins max.
In reality I need to check if you've had any problems, ensure nothing has changed that would make the pill unsuitable now (I.e new headaches, new medications or illnesses etc) and possibly talk to you about alternatives. I then have to fill in the relevant computer paperwork when youve gone to say I've done all of these things.
This all takes 5-10 mins to do properly. Your walk in appointment was probably 5 mins maximum per patient. So you were likely already at or over the 5 min allocation if you needed a referral when you then asked your GP for 5-10 mins more of her time.
I think the issue is with us not educating patients about what our time involves.

StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 26/10/2014 11:41

sometimes you can't win. I get an asthma review every year with the nurse who does me a prescription to be collected. After my last one a snotty receptionist reluctantly handed over the prescription saying she should not really do so as I had to have a medicine review, I politely explained I had just seen the asthma nurse for this and she barked that I needed it with the doctor. Now to see a doctor you have to ring on a morning the doc then rings you and if they need to see you they will make you an appointment. anyway day comes when I am nearly ready for another prescription so I ring and am told they are only taking emergency calls for GP, i ask how then I get my medicine review and am told I should be seeing the nurse every year politely said that I do but was told I needed it with a GP, she sighed and said no need and just like that changed the review date on my prescription and renewed it there and then. like I say... can't win.

DPotter · 26/10/2014 11:42

Look at it from your GP's point of view - it's an emergency clinic - one thing only. And at most she's got 8 mins to greet you, ask you questions, get relevant answers from you, examine you, all the while thinking through the potential list of illnesses you could be suffering from and what she can do to help. She does all this and then just as she's finished all that, you ask about the Pill appointment - non-urgent thing. So yes I can imagine she could get a bit annoyed - probably not the most gracious way of handling the request, but you got your repeat script. Would have been better on your part to remember at the beginning of the appointment to mention there were 2 things you wanted to discuss - but hey you're human, you forgot until later the the proceedings, and guess what she's human too and she got annoyed - I think you're even.

Sorry to sound so snappy but it really annoys me when professionals get lambasted when they have a human reaction. We are all human, we all have to make allowances for that. I will now get off my soap box and take a deep breath.

Original poster

Dinopaws1987 · 26/10/2014 11:43

For the pill my GP literally does weight, bp, prescription, goodbye! All over in 2 minutes!

I didn't realise there could be more to it, but she could have been polite about it!

OP posts:

freezation · 26/10/2014 12:18

YANBU at all to ask. As you say you didn't insist. A simple "no that's not possible now due to..." as you walk out of the door would have been polite. There was no need for her to be rude.

Hatespiders · 26/10/2014 17:55

"...tutted, grumbled and slammed her pen down in frustration..."
This is unprofessional behaviour. I bet you were astonished and mortified. I'd have said something along the lines of, "There's no need to be unpleasant. I was only trying to save you time." Why do doctors so often snap and snarl? We have some like that at our surgery. I know they're under pressure, but so are lots of other people. (I was often stressed to the nines as a teacher, but I would never have behaved like this to the parent of a pupil)

Mrsmorton · 26/10/2014 18:38

She was BU but it's frustrating when people ask for routine stuff in emergency appointments.

As mentioned above, it sends a message that emergency appts can be used for this. Never ever underestimate the amount of paperwork and record keeping that goes with any medical contact. It can be phenomenal and utterly disproportionate.

So She WBU but I have some sympathy. Maybe she was having a bad day according to MN healthcare professionals aren't allowed bad days

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 26/10/2014 19:24

I suspect that she'd had 3 patients before you with a list of 14 non urgent things that they wanted to add on to their urgent appointment and she just had a bad moment.

Very unprofessional but she probably felt really bad about it 2 minutes after you walked out the door.

CPtart · 26/10/2014 19:41

I am a practice nurse that does pill checks, which if done properly and as they should be (as only reviewed every 6months) do not take two minutes but more like ten. There is, or should be much more to it than weight and BP so on that score YABU. There was however, no need for her to be rude.

MillyStar · 26/10/2014 21:48

I'm a receptionist at a gp surgery and I can see this from both sides.

I'd have completely agreed with you before a started this job but now I see the amount of patients who want just one more little thing that will only take a few minutes!

She was quite rude though

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