To feel annoyed about drs

[Hobnobhobbit]

Tried to book an appointment had to ring at 8 phone was busy so kept trying to ring but couldn't get through had to leave for work try ring at work all booked up can't pre book any appointments either and every time I have rung at 8 there all fully booked

Pineapple, it seems that people are completely incapable of dealing with minor illness these days. I worked 111 for a couple of years, the volume of calls from people demanding/expecting to see a Dr because of sore throats, ear ache, headache, d&v, spots/blemishes, coughs & colds was staggering. They just don't know what to do!!!

I worked at NHS Direct for 6 years. If the sun came out for 10 minutes, people would be ringing up about sunburn and insect bites. It really opened my eyes to how dopey the general public is. People in their 60s not knowing how to deal with diarrhoea or vomiting.
When NHSD took over out of hours care, people would ring up wanting an ooh appt for nits.

People really need to join the dots here too. There's a crisis in GP recruitment. The government is making ideological decisions to underfund the NHS, and to destroy the morale of junior doctors by imposing contracts to spread cover even thinner. If you vote for this lot, don't be surprised if you can't get a GP apppointment. It will only get worse too.

So difficult. Cuts to the NHS are to blame, not the surgeries themselves. There isn't an easy answer unless funding increases.

I phoned my surgery yesterday morning as my DD 10 months was vomiting, high temp, rash, off food and milk. Was told no appointments until Thursday so asked for a call back from GP. The dr phoned and then made a same day apt for us (turns out she has hand foot and mouth). In the end we had two appointments when we only needed one so I'm not sure triage by a GP is the right call. Had I not insisted I wouldn't have been offered the call back- the receptionist wanted to book us in later in the week after I'd described the symptoms.

Perhaps triage by a nurse or pharmacist might help so they can advise on minor ailments too.

Some of us were already receiving shambolic care from GP's/the NHS well before the current recruitment crisis though cock. It's much more complex and nuanced than just lack of funding - there is massive inefficiency as well.

Some of us were already receiving shambolic care from GP's/the NHS well before the current recruitment crisis though cock. It's much more complex and nuanced than just lack of funding - there is massive inefficiency as well.

I'd look more at the general inability of many of the public to look after their own health in the most basic way, and the many who book appointments who then DNA, before i'd talk about inefficiencies in primary care.

It's going to get a lot worse indeed. My surgery is running well at the moment, but if our demand increases much more I think we could well end up one if these practices that are complained about on here!

I recently attended a meeting for local GP's that was held jointly with our local leaders and the BMA. We were asked to sign undated resignation letters, to try and negotiate extra funding to improve the current situation. For example, extra funding for better services at a practice level, including the provision of an urgent access mental health nurse, counsellor, physiotherapist etc. 97% of us signed it, which says it all really.

It's much more complex and nuanced than just lack of funding - there is massive inefficiency as well

Really? GPs receive £90-150 year per patient and the average consultation rate (for GP/practice nurse) is 7.5 per year. So that's £12-20 gross per consultation to cover all costs apart from rent of the building. By comparison, a call to NHS Direct costs about £32 and just walking through the door of A&E, even if no treatment given, is £80.

There are some crap GPs out there, just as there are crap members of every profession. But, as a sector, primary care is extremely efficient.

After many years experience in primary care, I've realised that people often take the piss. The elderly who 'require' district nurse or GP visits as they are 'housebound', then when you knock on the door they've gone out visiting people or the supermarket. That takes a lot of money and resources. COPD patients that constantly exacerbate, yet still smoke 40 a day and will not self care in any way. Stockpiling of tens of salbutamol inhalers in kitchen drawers, amongst others; yes, surgeries need to monitor this but where is the personal responsibility here? Relatives of very elderly and frail people, who often live miles away, expecting the NHS and social care services to do absolutely everything, but resist the necessary move into residential/social care because it will eat into their precious inheritance.
The current crisis in the NHS is caused by increased demand, ideologically based underfunding, and a lack of personal responsibility in society at large. I've seen so many primary care staff of all professsions just burn out and leave, just exhausted by it all. All those years of experience, lost to the NHS.

And talking about NHS direct; this government took a flawed but poplular service, got rid of the vast majority of the nurses, and then renamed the remnant 111. All for reasons of cost.

pineapple that's shocking! But sadly not surprising. Hope it has an impact and funding improves.

DH and I had the conversation yesterday about looking at private healthcare as it's the first time I've needed an urgent apt and not been offered one (until I insisted on a call back) and we can see it's only going to get worse. I feel like we're playing into the governments hands if we do though so I'm not sure that's the right call either.

If people used their local pharmacists for minor ailments advice, advice on prescribed medicines (such as side effects, interactions etc) a good proportion of apts would be saved I reckon.

The problem is that this government is now reducing funding to local pharmacies, more than a few will have to shut. It's like there's no adults or any joined up thinking at the DOH at all.

The biggest hole in NHS provision is the non-emergency but can't really wait - bad sprains, finger injuries etc. DD has CMPI - early days of dealing with it (trying different formula) had choice between on the day and 3 weeks time, with a young baby you err on the side of sooner. Wasn't life threatening but couldn't really wait 4 weeks. Same with pretty well every issue I've ever had. In 4 weeks you're either massively worse and had to go to secondary care, or better!

Threads like these make me so thankful for my surgery.

I was up with DS all night with a cold which moved down to his chest, and triggered an asthma attack (relieved by his inhaler). Phoned at 8am, was seen at 11am, and now home with a course of oral steroids.

Two weeks ago, I saw a trainee GP (appointment booked 3 days before), he checked a few things, called me an hour later with a new inhaler to try).

Bloody love my doctors.

The government just voted to cut pharmacy funding by £170m and the psnc guesstimate that upto 3000 pharmacies will close.
So people won't even be able to visit a pharmacist instead.

I've rung up twice now tomorrow I'm going to have to ring at 8 and hope there's a gap

Okay cock - probably no point telling you about the 30 or so GP appointments (and 3 hospital admissions) that were required before my cancer was diagnosed. In fact they barely bothered looking because of course it was only IBS, not a tumour that has gone through the wall of my colon. Twice. One utter prince of a GP at my surgery did offer me a psych referral for my hallucinations of screaming abdominal pain though, so that's alright...

That was in 2006 when Labour was hosing money at the NHS btw. I spent a week in hospital post-operatively. On a mixed ward with 2 toilets and 1 shower shared between 12 patients. Lovely. They had just spunked a lot of cash on a new entrance though for the "trust HQ" - money well spent, no doubt! Totally efficient.

I have since moved area and have an excellent GP now btw. None of the horrors described on this thread happen at my current GP and I have even managed to get half-decent NHS care during my pregnancy, which seems to be rare as hens teeth from some stories I have read on here. Which implies to me decent GP provision is actually less to do with funding and more to do with decent planning and organization.

Okay cock - probably no point telling you about the 30 or so GP appointments (and 3 hospital admissions) that were required before my cancer was diagnosed. In fact they barely bothered looking because of course it was only IBS, not a tumour that has gone through the wall of my colon. Twice. One utter prince of a GP at my surgery did offer me a psych referral for my hallucinations of screaming abdominal pain though, so that's alright... hmm

That's nothing to do with decent planning and organisation though, is it? It's poor practice by your GP.

Yes it was poor practice cock. Grossly negligent in fact (and a court agreed with me). Unsurprisingly, I just get a bit tired of the "poor GP's try so hard with no resources in difficult circumstances" when it's so bloody obvious that (1) some are utter morons (as in every other profession tbf) and (2) primary care and the wider NHS is failing a lot of people quite badly, as demonstrated by this thread.

I tried 63 times off my mobile yesterday.

In the end I used my BT landline and the ring back service (press 5)

Through within minutes!

But you're extrapolating one personal example to the whole system. The NHS isn't in crisis from a trust extending its entrance hall.

Our surgery had gotten really bad with long wait times and so about 2 years ago stopped taking on any new patients. Wait times are now max 5 days which is great. But the nurse has a dreadful wait. I am having to wait three weeks for a simple blood test to check for diabetes!

Pineapple I know that is usually the case but my practise nurse refuses to deal with babies and children and has done since 3 years ago don't know why so the children's hospital dr told me to book GP to remove stitches

Proudmummy that's a poor service, any wonder there's no appointments. I thank my lucky stars every day we have such great nurses in my place! Children are the easiest patients in my opinion.

Lots of posters are referring to personal examples here cock. Yes it's anecdata and obviously there are some areas working better than others but I think it's naive to assume that the NHS would function brilliantly if only we flung more cash at it. I don't believe that it would - I experienced structural, cultural and staffing problems that could actually be remedied with decent management and organization (at both a central and primary care level). I have also lived overseas and received excellent "free" primary healthcare that knocks NHS provision into a cocked hat. Yes these systems often involve a higher proportion of GDP being spent on health, but often the "extra" comes from individuals on a sliding scale according to means.