To be fuming that I can't get a GP's appointment this morning?

[MintyChapstick]

I'm so angry and upset.

Since before Christmas I have felt that my mental health has been declining. Feeling panicky, wired, on edge and its now got to the point where I am no longer sleeping properly. Keeping waking up very early even on the weekend, with this overwhelming feeling of doom and terrior. I have been medicated before, I know this will make me feel better but I cant get a fucking GP'sappointment, they only have one doctor in the surgery you see despite covering a massive area and you can longer book an appointment in advance.

There is no drop in service like there is in other surgeries, you have to ring on the morning and get an appointment like that. I rang at 8.30 on the dot the surgery was still closed, a minute later I tried again engaged, I finally managed to get through at 8.36 and all the appointments had gone. How is it possible for every single appointment between 9am and 1pm when they close for lunch to have gone in six minutes?

I had psyched myself up to see a doctor this morning, I could have started my medication today and it would have been in my system by next week when I go back to work. I know from the last time that it makes you worse before it makes you better. I've been in tears all morning, I need my medication! The receptionist was nice, but sort of non plussed, I guess it's not hear fault but I don't believe there are no appointments. In fact I can just picture the fucking waiting room now, elderly people who are there several times a week with bunions and in growing toe nails (we all know the sort) clogging it up whilst people who are really unwel can't get seen.

How they fuck is this right?

Posters. A little tact would not go astray here. The OP is in distress. She knows she needs meds. Giving her a bollocking on here is not helpful. If you want to have a rant, start another thread. When someone's mental health is in jeopardy, people can come across as irrational. Much like how you feel when you're in physical pain, it can make you short-tempered.

Anyway. OP, keep ringing. Hopefully you might get one this afternoon.

If you don't, I wonder if you could rock up to the surgery at 8.30 in the morning and see if you could get an appointment that way? Or do they only accept phonecalls?

Also, and this may frustrate you to even hear it, but there's a thing called 'sleep aid' that I buy (usually available in Wilko's or Poundland). It has valerian and some other shit in it. If you can't get meds for tonight, try to get your hands on that - I've never seen it in a chemist, but I've never been looking for it there if you get me! It does actually work. And believe me, I'm THE most cynical person when it comes to alternative therapies. It might just help you to get a night's sleep tonight.

You sound very selfish and should have got yourself sorted ages ago if this has been going on since Xmas. I sincerely hope you have to wait a good time for an appointment no

Look you are right, OP should not have said that. It was wring, and in her "defence" she has MH issues and is clearly distraught right now

what's your excuse for saying you hope she does not get treated?

Some surgeries display time wasters on their notice boards I have seen recently when visiting a friends doctors. It showed how many days wasted due to missed appointments over the last six months and stated that the local supermarket sold calpol, headline remedies, nappy cream and that appointments or meds wouldn't be issued for OTC items.

It sounds like it's truly serious, so tell them you're going to go to A&E if they don't see you today. They'll see you. Because they get billed for that.

stopfuckingshoutingatme - very good point.

What a cruel thing to say to someone ill.

People really are fucking clueless about the differences between mental and physical health problems aren't they?

I have heard staff here ask why students haven't gotten their MH problems diagnosed as soon as they started suffering...

1. They didn't know what was wrong or even that it was wrong because MH symptoms aren't easy to self diagnose and education levels on MH aren't very high (a broken leg on the other hand is pretty easy to diagnose).

1. By the time the symptoms were serious enough that it was obviously a MH problem they were feeling so low they didn't they deserved treatment (broken legs rarely leave the recipient believing they don't deserve treatment)

1. The doctors didn't recognise the symptoms immediately and they came out with the wrong diagnosis initially (average time to diagnose broken leg - 30 seconds by patient let alone doctor, average time to diagnose depression = 9 weeks by doctor if you get a good one).

You can get your NHS number from your old GP or off a repeat prescription.
I handed in new GP forms last Friday and got a same day emergency appointment. Worth a try.

I'd have taken the nurse's appointment. I thought everyone knew that they can go and fetch the doctor if need be.

MintyChapstick

In fact I can just picture the fucking waiting room now, elderly people who are there several times a week with bunions and in growing toe nails (we all know the sort) clogging it up whilst people who are really unwel can't get seen.

Unbelievably fucking rude. I have zero sympathy if you have been feeling like this for six weeks.

This won't help today, but do they do online appointments? Surgeries that do, usually keep back several appointments for online booking only.
If there's only one GP that could be a problem.

I do sympathise to some extent Minty. Getting GP appointments at my surgery is a bloody nightmare too and I also struggle to get a GP appointment around work as my work don't like people taking time off either. HOWEVER, it does sound a bit like you've left this issue rumbling on for a long time. If the issues started before Christmas you could have gone during the school Christmas holidays for example, or just explained to your boss you need to see a Dr and say you need an hour off work (I know a lot of places don't like this, but they can't prevent you). It is a bit unreasonable to leave your anxiety untreated for weeks and then complain that it's an urgent issue that needs treating today.

It's difficult. I do feel for the doctors, nurses, receptionists AND patients at the moment. The system is at the brink of collapse and it's frustrating for patients and the staff who work within it, who are undoubtedly trying their best.

I also think there needs to be harsher penalties for people who miss appointments though without good reason. I think something like a £25 fine for missed appointments without notice wouldn't be unreasonable. And if someone refuses to pay it then they should be taken off the practice list. My surgery also publishes a list each month of the numbers of people who miss appointments. It's usually about 300 a month! :(

Don't post threads like this in AIBU! How many more times does it need to be said?

Yes IceBeing.

And

1. They didn't want to be a nuisance to the doctor or be told they were a timewaster if the problem was only mild at that point.

1. Sometimes people feel (incorrectly) that they'd be "weak" to accept treatment, or are embarrassed by having a MH problem due to social stigma that still sadly remains.

1. They daren't phone the receptionist for whatever reason.

Haven't RTFT, but PPs upthread mentioned contacting your local mental health crisis team. Sadly, in many areas, access to the crisis team is only given after referral by a GP, or a trip to A&E (with the subsequent waiting around that entails) - I know this through bitter experience.

I don't know why people are recommending booking appointments online. it's not exactly a wonderful system, universally.

We have the same group of GPs covering 3 practices in 3 villages. It's supposed to have 4 drs in the group. I needed to make an appointment, this month, for a medication review and stalked the online system for a week, trying to get an appointment that I could actually get to (ie in school hours, in our village). No luck and the only appointments up, over the 2 week period advertised were with the same dr that I'd vowed never to see again because he was always horrible to me.

Thankfully, we don't have the same day 8:30 appointment free for all, though it has become increasingly difficult to get a same week appointment, in recent years. I ended up walking in, on the verge of tears of frustration, last wek and asking if the ones offered onine were really all that's available. Turns out they weren't and I got an appointment, that day, with a very nice locum. There was a list up in the waiting room indicating that the practice is down to 2 permanent GPs and 3 locums, plus a locum prescribing nurse.

In fact I can just picture the fucking waiting room now, elderly people who are there several times a week with bunions and in growing toe nails (we all know the sort) clogging it up whilst people who are really unwel can't get seen

I do love a bit of ageist entitlement in the morning.

100% in agreement with Icebeing and thebiscuitindustry

6 weeks is not a long time to leave something like this run on. One always hopes that it will pass. Also, the nature of the beast is that it can be very debilitating. OP probably knew that she was going to be stressed to the hilt any time she tried to get an appointment, so put it off.

In any case, the OP would still have faced the same issue, as she would have had to ring first thing every morning to try to get an appointment. Hard to get in first place, and then you're giving extremely short notice to an employer of the appointment.

Basically, OP - you're not being unreasonable. I just hope that you can access help today.

I know this is an unpopular view but I'd rather most of us had to pay for a gp appointment and could get them when we need/want them.

As for there not being enough gps I think students who get subsidised training in the uk should have to pay back their fees if they don't work in the NHS. They should also reserve some med school places for students who sign a contract agreeing to work in general practice for X years.

Sorry you are having such a tough time but have you any idea how many other people will also have put off appointments until half-term? So now a single-handed GP has to juggle all the usual Monday morning madness, plus an influx of people who have been putting off appointments, even for urgent problems, but who now expect to get seen the same day.

I am really sorry that your mental health is poor but, if you are well enough to work, you are also well enough have rung the surgery in advance, rather than being expected to be seen a emergency for a problem you have had since Xmas. And some of your comments about elderly people are ageist and unpleasant.

Our surgery can be like this.

They do mitigate it a bit though by allowing people who really need to be seen to come along and camp out at the end of each surgery session if they have put their name on the list. If they book you into that session you go along and will be seen by whichever doctor happens to become free when your name reaches the top of the list.

Over the years with young children, and some fairly urgently needed appointments for myself, I have learned not to take no for an answer. So when they say there are no more appointments available, which normally happens within 5 minutes of the surgery opening on a Monday morning, I just say "fine, but I need to be seen so I would like to book onto the end of surgery list", and so far that normally works.

I could wait several weeks for an appointment with my own GP. The problem is that I can't plan that far in advance when I or the DDs might be ill.

shiny - you can't book an appointment in advance at her surgery - RTFT.

Light, I've always thought there should be a charge. Doesn't have to be much and there could be annual passes for those with ongoing conditions like the annual prescription cards.

Would weed out time wasters and funds generated could help fund future GPs or more now.

any MH related statement that starts 'if you are well enough to work...' is by definition bullshit.

People work even though they aren't well enough...because they have to, because while everybody understands 'I can't get into work today because I broke my leg' almost nobody understands 'I can't get into work today because my brain is paralysed with fear/anxiety/depression and the message to get up and get dressed isn't making it to my legs'.

People would be more likely to put off visiting the GP if they had to pay for appointments, which could be a false economy if their problem gets worse, in terms of both cost and patient wellbeing.

A charge for missed appointments sounds a better idea, although there could still be factors other than selfishness behind a missed appointment.