Doctor's appointment

[10greenapples]

I missed a drs appointment for my dd as I just wasn't going to make it on time. Anyway today I recieved a letter which says if one more appointment is missed she won't be allowed another one for 6 months! We can cancel an appointment but need to give an hours notice. So we will only be seen at the walk in if another is missed which is 8am-11am and a 2 hour wait. Aibu in thinking this seems pretty harsh?!

@ 10 greenapples Quote: I hardly see the gp and it was the first time I was late.
You weren't late though, were you? You did NOT attend! FFS

It seems that, as far as they were concerned, you just didn't turn up. No message before, no explanation afterwards. So you got the standard letter. If you feel there were special circumstances, talk to them about it. Nicely. Because so far, you're in the wrong.

best thing to do is make sure you have enough credit (or data) to make that one call. Had you been able to get through and explain the situation, the car accident closing the road, then there's a chance the surgery would have shuffled patients and squeezed you in an hour later, most patients turn up early anyway so shuffling can be arranged. Or you could have made a reverse charge call.

Just ignoring the appointment and giving up, is really bad manners.

But a drug is useless if the pharmacist can't do the right diagnosis.

Lewji certain pharmacists and nurses opt to progress into advanced practice. They undergo extra training, and some cases, masters qualifications in order to do so. Once qualified, they work within a scope of practice and if they review a case beyond this scope they are duty bound to refer on.

I would completely trust a pharmacist to diagnose and prescribe and think this practice is imperative to keeping the NHS going as it reduces the number of patients attending GPS or A&Es

You sound like the sort of "entitled" patient who is helping to screw up the NHS. Sorry, but I've worked in the NHS and this sort of selfishness makes me fume.

Oh well whats done is done.

certain pharmacists and nurses opt to progress into advanced practice.
I would completely trust a pharmacist to diagnose and prescribe

Well, I wouldn't ANY pharmacist, unless I knew they were specifically qualified.

Oh well whats done is done

Indeed @10greenapples , very true

But going forwards you can learn not to be rude.

You can learn to act respectfully and to apologise when required.

You can also do the £5 phone thing which I suggested.

So never again do you have an excuse not to inform others of your movements.

Happy days 😊

Wow that is harsh, we don't get that at any of the GP practises I work at. Especially a child, I never penalise children who are late, it isn't their fault.
As a medical professional the only thing that gets my goat is when people ring to say they are stuck in traffic and will be a few minutes late then turn up 40 minutes later demanding to be seen saying, "I rang to say I was going to be late"....so what you are still 40 minutes late wether you rang or not and will not be seen.
I'd rather people rang and said sorry I'm stuck in traffic can I cancel and rebook please.

Well, I wouldn't ANY pharmacist, unless I knew they were specifically qualified.

What would you need to see, to know they were qualified?? Health professionals don't go around diagnosing on a whim. They are bound by codes of practice to work within their limits. That pharmacist has probably seen these sorts of cases hundreds of times but if they weren't sure they would ask the patient to be seen by their GP. They wouldn't just take a guess!

My daughter had a paediatrician appointment this week. I received four reminder texts in the run up to it even with an option to rebook if I needed to (no way though - I've been waiting since December!) The text said a missed appointment would cost the NHS £160. YABVVVU. I don't drive and have never missed any appointment in my life.

I've got to hand it to you OP, you've stuck with this thread.

If only you could show the same dedication to our NHS!

There is quite a bit of hypocrisy OP

Can't afford £5 emergency credit for phone
What makes you think the NHS can afford no show appointments?

Didn't want to waste time still going to surgery and not be seen
But it's ok to waste NHS time by not turning up or calling?

Late for appointment
As PP have said, you weren't late. You were a no-show with no contact with the surgery. They had no idea why you didn't show.

Had other important things to do after appointment
The NHS have more important things to do than keep an appointment for a no show and then don't forget the time it takes to write and post letter to said no shows to warn them! It all costs money and time to manage these situations.

I think the problem with this thread OP is that you say you know YABU but then keep defending every single decision you made as if your time and your money is more important than the NHS. Not once have you said 'ok I should have called as soon as I got home' or 'ok yes I can see there is a NEED to have emergency credit on the phone'

The final point I'd like to make - if there genuinely was severe road problems in the area due to closure for an accident and unplanned diversions in place, I'm pretty sure the surgery would have also had other patients caught up in it, or at least have heard about it happening. Therefore it would have been even more likely that they still would have seen DD as they would recognise these are circumstances beyond control, rather than just being 'late', and probably had to shuffle a number of patient appts due to the severe traffic delays.

if there genuinely was severe road problems

Nice aspersion chucked in there.

I wonder how many of the people posting here have experienced hand-to-mouth life first hand for a prolonged period.

Yes its easy to trot out 'you should always have emergency credit' and 'you should always do x,y or z' if you have mostly had that few quid.

My interpretation of 'had other things to do' was 'had to get as much done as possible on one set of bus fares' rather than run home, waste the bus fare just to tell the surgery they had been delayed when it was already too late for the surgery to reallocate the appt.

Don't blame the poor and their restricted access and transport for bad funding and management in the NHS which is entirely a political choice.

OP: I would have still called the surgery when I got home, albeit too late for them to do anything about it. If only to have some rebuttal against threats of being delisted.

The surgery were right to send the letter. Missed appointments cost a bomb 😢

You really can't think where a few quid phone credit is essential?

Imagine school (or anyone else looking after your kids) rings and leaves a message saying your dc had an accident and they're taking them to hospital / emergency walk in etc... you'd not be able to call back and find out exactly where they were.

Same scenario but it's your dp's / sisters / mums work etc.

Now this will be the part where your all horrified! I don't even have a voice mail on my phone so the school can't leave a message!!

You sound so proud of yourself, and your chaotic little life
Whatever...

i am under a consultant at a London hospital; it is made very clear that if I miss an appointment without prior notice I can be removed from his list and would have to back to GP and go through referral process again.

Not too long ago I had an appointment and was on a train to go to it. There was a "trespass on the line" and train went nowhere for just over two hours. To make things worse we were in a deep cutting with no phone signal. I tried to email DH to ask him to call hospital but couldn't even get strong enough data signal for that.

AS SOON as the train moved and I could get a signal I called the hospital and explained. They confirmed I could no longer be seen that day but AS I HAD CALLED, APOLOGISED, AND EXPLAINED they arranged another appointment for me the following month. If I'd just, as OP did, got on with my busy day and not apologised then I would have been removed from my consultant's list and deservedly so.

OP I would seriously consider scraping £5 together and put in on your phone. If you don't use it then it will still be there for situations like this.

Now this will be the part where your all horrified! I don't even have a voice mail on my phone so the school can't leave a message!!

Not horrified.

Not even surprised.

I'm not normally one for borrowing money but given your sister is in a position to be going on holiday to Jamaica I would be asking her to help you get a phone set up so you are contactable - not for your sake but for the sake of your children!

That said If I knew my sister was in that position I would put an emergency fiver on her phone without needing to be asked!

This isn't about one missed appointment, it's because OP has missed many an appointment. Surgeries don't take these kinds of threats lightly when it comes to kids, so she must really be taking the piss.

So I'm lying now and have missed loads of appointments? No it was ONE missed appointment. You get TWO chances but the fact you find that unbelievable confirms that it is harsh!

My sisters has a very well paid job, she holidays 3-4 times a year but that's her business I don't expect her to give me money.