5 mins late for medical appointment and reaction of HCP

[BooeyBubbleHead]

I am 34 weeks pregnant. Due to an unforeseen traffic diversion followed by a slow moving farm vehicle on a winding road, I arrived 5 minutes late for a medical appointment today. I had left enough time to have been 10 mins early, should it have been a standard journey. I think being on time is important and I would never intend to keep anyone waiting. I was unable to phone ahead as I was driving and do not have hands free, and safe places to stop are few on this route.

This is a very regular appointment and I have never been seen on time - I have always had to wait at least 10 mins after appt time, and sometimes up to 30 minutes. I accept and understand having to wait and have never made it an issue or taken it out on staff; the sheer volume of patients mean that it is inevitable and nobody's fault.

Today, HCP was incredibly offhand with me, and even implied that I was lying when I apologised (sincerely) and explained why I was late. The appointment was rushed and very unpleasant and I felt that I was being punished. There was much passive aggression and hostile body language. I did state that I was offended by her tone but this just made her more argumentative - she needed to have the last word. I arrived feeling stressed and left feeling even more so.

AIBU to expect the same empathy and understanding when running very slightly late, that I give regularly when kept waiting?

Really annoyed and considering making a complaint...

Still it wasn't about the lateness. It was about the rudeness with which she was subsequently subjected to.

YANBU. A professional who's role includes putting you at ease and helping you to stay calm was rude and stressed you out. By all means complain.

The NHS is a service and paid for by taxes (about 13% of all taxes). Yes, it needs more money and it is overstretched as healthcare gets more expensive but the HCP still behaved poorly.

Blueblueskies you can't be that ill if you won't wait, so why bother taking up appointments at all?

I had to walk away from an nurse appointment recently. I arrived early for pretty much the first appointment after lunch, and waited, and waited. After a while I checked with reception and was told I was definitely next. So I waited and waited, and eventually went back to reception and said I would have to leave because I needed to pick the DC up from school.

Rebooked for a 7.10am appointment. Was called in at 7.50 and done by 7.52.

HOWEVER the timing is irrelevant. As OP patiently explains, the timekeeping itself wasn't what she objected to, but the unsympathetic bedside manner.

These things happen but it doesn't help your frame of mind does it? Maybe in future allow more than 10 minutes for any unforeseen circumstances in future, more like 20 perhaps. Everyone else travelling from your direction would have been late too, I'm sure.

I was once late for a chemo session due to an unexpected snowfall but it was all right as all the nurses were late too.

Indeed, dd had an appointment that was v important last year. Our feeder road onto the A Road was rammed. Quick google told us there were ponies on the A road. Apt was at 9.15. It was 8 am. Diverted to nearest BR station. Paid £5 to park the car, got on train, got cab from nearest station to hospital. Were five minutes early. DD got bus to school, I had to go back for the car. Fortunately the ponies had been caught once I got back. They were working on skeleton nurses who were all delayed. I would always go the extra mile to get to work or an apt. If others don't then they lose the right to tell people off imo.

The consultant was there though.

Also I wonder if the HCP would have spoken to a man like that etc or someone who was quite assertive or aggressive themselves or had attitude itms and didn't care about being late.

I do think because you are female and pregnant and you were apologetic she took out her own frustrations on you as she could seen you were decent and almost hair shirt wearing about being late.

Booey - you did the right thing by apologising and the HCP was BU. You were late. You know you were wrong. Dealt with and end of.

What you could've done (or can do in the future should something similar arise) - ask for a chaperone for the rest of the appointment.
It's good for several reasons - it can calm HCP down

• it gives another witness
• it can help you feel more safe

What I would do now, if I were you, register a complaint. All you need to do is put it in writing and you can say when you're "done" with the complaint. So it doesn't need escalated if you say you are happy with outcome etc.

I just think that no matter how crabby a HCP is or what kind of day they have had - everyone is an individual going through their individual crap.

Best of luck.

Shiny have a look here about-france.com/health-care.html to see how French health care is funded; it's not as simple as the govt paying the whole lot, and there are charges different to ours for GP visits, medication etc

So what? The figures I quoted above are the total national spend on healthcare as percentage of GDP - they include all spending on health, from all sources. We spend billions less than in France.

When I was pregnant, I had to walk 20+ minutes to see my midwife (think inner city abroad, pedestrian only streets), most of the time appts at 8am. I always waited at least 45 minutes to be seen. At my second last visit I was 3 minutes late (41 weeks pregnant and probably over optimistic about how fast I could walk) and she told me she wouldnt see me then, or again, that I should go to reception and request a change as she doesnt deal with people who made her wait.

I once had an appointment that was four HOURS late. That cost me a lot in parking fees. But it was because the consultant neurosurgeon had been on wards and couldn't start his clinic on time.

I have also had an appointment for my dad who was having a outpatients minor procedure done at a clinic in our hospital. Arrived ten mins early. Booked in. Was sent down to the furthest waiting room, which was deserted. Ddad struggled to sit in his wheelchair due to the nature of where his cancer was and after we'd waited 25 mins or more I went and asked when we'd be seen.

5 mins later, the nurse who had been chatying to the receptionist about her weekend bustled in at top speed to see dad. I honestly think that they'd forgotten he was even there.

Mil was also forgotten about once. Put in a side room and left. Aft er about an hour she enquired when she'd be seen to be told that the clinic had finished and the consultant had gone home and they had forgotten she was there.

Our surgery will not see you if you are even a minute late. They are pretty good and usually run to time.

The fact is though shiny and we have a home I France. If the NHS were as good as and as user friendly as in France, I'd happily pay more. The NHS is broken and the sooner iris acknowledged the sooner it can be put right. The acknowledgement and commitment to prying right th faults needs to become before I support a,tax increase though.

If the NHS were as good as and as user friendly as in France, I'd happily pay more. The NHS is broken and the sooner iris acknowledged the sooner it can be put right. The acknowledgement and commitment to prying right th faults needs to become before I support a,tax increase though

Please do not insult those of us who work in the NHS by suggesting we are not committed to improving patient care. It is fucking difficult when you are coping with decades of under-investment. The fundamental problem is too few staff - France, for example has 3.37 doctors per 1000 population, the UK has 2.2. How do you suggest we employ more people without more money?

We have spent billions less than Germany, France and most other comparable countries every year for decades. You cannot reverse decades of under-investment with a commitment to improve. The fact that the NHS manages to achieve results that are comparable to France in most respects, despite France having spent 100s of billions more than the UK on healthcare over the last decade, is a testament to how hard the NHS works and the commitment of our staff.

I wouldn't be happy if we had to pay to see a gp. I have to see them atleast twice a month.
I don't enjoy having chronic health problems as it is

I've also spent a lot of time in hospital in the last few years, my care ( bar one time) was good. Nurses and doctors were fantastic.i couldn't knock it.

I am pathologically early. Being late triggers my anxiety so I just don't do it. I was once 90 seconds late to have blood taken for Day 21 tests. As suggested by the name, these need taking on Day 21 of a cycle. I'd been stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. Having been kept about 40 minutes a time for every previous appt I hoped that running in and apologising would be enough. No. I was told that as I was late I would have to leave. I explained that my blood needed to be drawn that day or I'd have to wait another month so could I please wait and see if the nurse could fit me in. I was very patient and apologetic

Forty five minutes later I was called through, at which point the nurse apologised for keeping me waiting but the receptionist hadn't booked me in and the nurse had been doing paperwork for 35 minutes until she was told I was there.

Well said shinynew. You and other HCPs have my wholehearted support and thanks for working in such difficult conditions, and I'd pay more in tax in a heartbeat to help the NHS.

Thanks shove

As I said upthread, none of this justifies the rudeness to the OP which was indefensible.

Their appointment schedule running late is not comparable and never a reason to excuse patients turning up late. Nobody gets a gold star for not complaining the HCP was running late, its the nature of the service and cannot be avoided.

Arriving late for appointments costs the NHS money it can ill afford and impacts other service users and the doctor/consultant/nurse.

YABU to think arriving only 10 minutes early for an appointment is sufficient to account for any and all potential traffic, parking issues, or a busy reception desk etc. Nobody likes being late, but leaving only 10 minutes leeway is probably the reason for many patients showing up late and impacting the service the HCP can provide.

But almost every time I enter a hospital I witness rudeness and experience poor communication and see an awful lot of chatting amongst the staff.

Wings - this is a regular, long term appointment. I always leave at the same time and take the same, very familiar route. I am always in the building at least 10 mins early - I don't see any reason to arrive any earlier to be honest as, until yesterday, I have never been seen until at least 10 minutes after the appointment time. On this single occasion there had been a traffic accident on the dual carriageway that was severe enough to cause a diversion. This is obviously a rare occurrence. Leaving at the time I did meant that I was parking my car at my appointment time, and sitting with the HCP 5 minutes later. It could have been a lot worse considering the diversion route was partially through winding country lanes and all traffic was stuck behind a tractor!

I would have accepted rescheduling the appointment as I appreciated that I was late. What I don't accept is being spoken to like dirt. I am not responsible for the hardships of the NHS. I have never been late for an NHS appointment before and I accept being kept waiting due to the nature of the service and the volume of patients being seen. I apologised profusely and explained what had happened, but it was not good enough for this particular HCP.

I can only presume that she had had a shit day and took it out on me (I think mine was one of the last appointments as it was at 4). Either way, it doesn't excuse her awful manner.

Luckily, I have only received good care from the other HCPs that I have seen and I can only hope not to come across this lady again.

Arriving late for appointments costs the NHS money it can ill afford and impacts other service users and the doctor/consultant/nurse.

having to take half a day off work for a 15 min routine app costs me and my employer money.

YANBU. When I was pregnant I was kept waiting 2hours for my appointment and got an earful when I went back to work very late. If you are pregnant you are not expected to have a full time job nor have to travel more than 10mins to get to a clinic. You have my sympathy but, for your own sanity move on!

Shiny Please do not insult those of us who work in the NHS by suggesting we are not committed to improving patient care. This is what makes it so difficult to have a rational and reasoned debate about NHS reform, that every time it is raised, you take it as a personal attack.

There are other health care models out there, and as the NHS is evidently under pressure, perhaps some of these could be explored, to see if they would make a difference. Admin could certainly be improved...having told my GP and the NHS trust that I was moving abroad in 2014, I was somewhat surprised this year to be told that I was being moved to the list of a different GP. I understand that a GP gets money for every person on the list...why am I still on it?

It's little tweaks that would streamline things much more. In Belgium, I go to the haematologists every six months. I register centrally when I arrive at the hospital, establish how I will be paying, and then am allowed to go to my appointment. They take my blood, count how many platelets I don't have, and then I see a doctor. If there is a wait for the blood results, then they tell you to go and have a coffee or a beer for an hour or so. In the UK, I fronted up to a huge waiting room for several outpatient clinics, where booking in was a nightmare. I had to be weighed and then was told to sit and wait to be called. I pointed out I needed blood taken, but this was ignored. When eventually called, after two hours, I pointed out I still needed a blood test to be told I didn't. Upon enquiring quite how it was proposed to establish my platelet count without taking blood, as that was what I come to see the doc about, I was then sent to get bloods done, which was a 20 minute wait, then another wait to establish my platelet count, which is low. I finally got to see the doc four hours after my appointment time. Had I been given the sheet for the blood test, I could have had that done first, then everything else would have flowed from there.

Some of this is not rocket science, and might help the front line staff.