Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to expect my dr's surgery to provide vaccinations when it is convenient for me?

26 replies

fluffyanimal · 30/04/2007 16:05

I am having to take a morning off work and my son out of nursery for the morning because our dr's surgery only does vaccinations at a monthly Tuesday morning clinic. I asked whether the practice nurse or a doctor could give the vaccination at a more convenient time and they said no. My ds is already late with this vaccination because normally I teach on Tuesdays and I have had to wait until term finishes to get an appointment when I can take time off work. I want him to have the full vaccination programme but they don't make it easy. What are other people's experiences?

OP posts:
catsmother · 30/04/2007 16:13

When my daughter recently had her 2nd MMR etc I was offered a whole range of appointments to choose from ..... certainly wasn't restricted to one day, and the morning in particular. The vaccines are kept in a fridge in the nurse's room .... I'm sure they don't disappear at all other times than Tuesday mornings.

I would be tempted to complain to the practice manager ..... there is no logical reason why you shouldn't be able to see the nurse during the times she is usually there anyway. (I suspect doctor's time is considered too precious to be doing something a nurse could do instead !)

Manictigger · 30/04/2007 17:03

At our local surgery you get sent an appointment for childhood vaccinations because a nurse who specialises in immunisations does them and she only visits a max of once a week. I'd rather my child was immunised by someone with specialist knowledge and advice (as opposed to a 'normal' nurse or GP) and would be willing to put up with a fair bit of inconvenience for that. And to be honest, what's a bit of inconvenience compared to your child's health? I'm just glad we get free vaccinations against deadly diseases and feel we shouldn't take them for granted so much. So....after all that rambling, I think you AB a bit U.

Mercy · 30/04/2007 17:21

I'm an SAHM so in theory could take my children any time. However, the nurse at our GP's surgery is only available at certain times, as is the nurse who does smear tests etc.

All working parents have to take time off to attend appointments with their children (not just for the doctor or dentist btw) and even SAHPs with more than one child often have to take their other children with them even though it's not convenient.

For example, I had a smear test a few months ago. As you know, they can only be carried out at certain times in your cycle and the nurse who specialises in this is only available one afternoon a week at our surgery. Dh is at work at this time so I had to take my 2 (who were 5 and 2 yrs old) and leave them in the waiting room.

I agree that a clinic only once a month is not ideal but I do think you are being unreasonable tbh.

Ladymuck · 30/04/2007 17:24

Have you tried your HV? Sometimes they arrange clinics at different times (though it won't be at your local surgery) and those times may suit you most.

I agree it is frustrating, but frankly I have more confidence in the childrens nurse doing the imms than say having my GP doing them.

lulumama · 30/04/2007 17:28

our HV does imms every thursday between 09.30 and 11.00 you just go when you get the letter from the health authority

lulumama · 30/04/2007 17:30

if they had to do it at everyones' convenience , they would need to offer it 7 days a week , 24 hours a day

chocolattegirl · 30/04/2007 17:50

I had to wait 2 weeks to get an appointment for my tetanus booster before I went to Spain last year. The nurse is only there one day a week and I'd missed all her appointments for the first week. I also had to take a morning off work as it was an 11am appt!!

I think it could be easier to get hold of these injections but at the same time at least they are free.

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 30/04/2007 20:12

Our GP surgery is the same - I struggled for ages getting an appt and her pre-school booster thingy was done about 9 months after she started school.

I kept ringing to be told the next 2 months clinics are full (one clinic a month). So I said I'd book in for 3 months time. "oh no, we don't book that far ahead". Grrrr.

I nearly didn't bother.

Jomist · 30/04/2007 20:17

At my dr they only have them on a Tuesday afternoon because that's when they run their baby clinic for 6 week checks and like to have the dr who specialises in paediatrics on call in case of any problems. I have to take time off to do these things and I don't think it's unreasonable. I think it's a good approach and made with the childrens' interests at heart.

cat64 · 30/04/2007 20:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MrsWho · 30/04/2007 20:29

Noone has actually commented on the fact this is a teacher talking and teachers can't just take time off like other jobs

Manictigger · 30/04/2007 21:49

MrsWho - I avoided that bit because I didn't quite understand what the OP meant because she seemed to suggest that she had to wait until the end of term and then still take time off work. I was a bit baffled.

Anyway, what's the situation regarding teachers, are they not entitled to time off work for child related things (or have the government not brought that law in yet)? Perhaps we need a MN teacher to tell us.

wheresthemerlot · 30/04/2007 21:55

I may be wrong but you might be able to get these jabs at a private clinic (although you'd have to pay, obviously) or even at a hospital clinic. The waiting list would probably be just as bad though.

twoisplenty · 30/04/2007 21:58

Then I can only say: thank goodness your child has no special needs, then you would have to give up work altogether to attend the 101 appointments at hospitals, where clinics are held at specific times, PLUS vaccinations! My 8yo ds is having to take 3 days off school to attend appointments. There's no way I can ammalgamate them because the hospital professionals are busy too.

Therefore, just a few inconvenient appointment times for vaccinations seems heavenly to me. I wish.

Porcupine · 30/04/2007 21:58

shOCk at time off work for your kdis health!"!!!!

Mercy · 30/04/2007 21:59

I don't think the OP's job is relevant tbh.

In an ideal world there is a set time between jabs, but it's not alway possible or even necessary. My dd didn't have the pre-school booster until she was almost 6.

We have no idea how old the OP's ds is or if she has a partner or which immumisations the OP is referring to.

iirc, the only imms. which require 3 in a row are when a baby is very young. The other are just boosters which can be done as and when.

MrsWho · 30/04/2007 22:02

In my school we are allowed time off but it is unpaid and it is to be taken in cases of illnesses/emergencies rather than just appoinments.I tend to swap my days if dds have an appoinment but of course if you work full time its not that easy.The only way round it would be to swap PPA time but not all schools would be happy about that.

Tangfastic · 30/04/2007 22:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mercy · 30/04/2007 22:09

Where is the OP?

Half a day off is nothing to get worked up about, surely. Christ, I used to have to do things like this before I had kids (boiler probs, doctors appts for me etc).

Original poster
fluffyanimal · 01/05/2007 14:31

Sorry for absence. I've accepted after a bit of sulking that it was a bit unreasonable, because I can accept that if they let everyone get the jabs in normal nurse or GP appointment slots, then there wouldn't be enough appointments for people needing to see the GP or nurse for other things. Fair enoughsky.

AS regards my job and taking time off: I am a university lecturer and rescheduling my classes is a nightmare because the students do so many course combinations their timetables are all different. So taking time off during teaching is impossible. But contrary to the popular belief, just because us lecturers and indeed secondary school teachers don't teach during school / university vacation time, that doesn't mean we are not working! So yes, Manictigger, after term time I am still at work, alas!

But anyway, I know it's good that the jabs are free and I shouldn't begrudge anything for ds's health. It's hard though not to begrudge a morning off work and a loss of a morning at nursery that I'll still have to pay through the nose for, for something that would essentially take 5 minutes. If they could have offered me an appointment at the beginning or end of the day i wouldn't have got narked. Ho hum, I'm only human.

OP posts:
Manictigger · 01/05/2007 17:08

Now I feel guilty because you sound so reasonable! So many people seem to lose it if people disagree with them so thank you for restoring my faith in the sanity of MNers

OrmIrian · 01/05/2007 17:16

I did get an appointment with a nurse for DS~2's last vaccination. But that might only have been because when we turned up for the previous clinic there were too many people and I had to leave to pick my eldest kids up from school. I don't know if that's normal practice there.

Eleusis · 01/05/2007 20:13

I'm with you all the way, Fluffy. Why is the NHS too good for customer service?

And to everyone who said the NHS vax are free: my bloody arse they are.

morningpaper · 01/05/2007 20:15

I get appointments at other times by repeating "I really can't make it. What can I do? Please help me!" about 20 times and eventually the Receptionist (whose job it is to keep you away from Doctors and Nurses) admits that she "might" be able to speak to the nurse and get another appointment during the other hours the nurse works i.e. the other 35 hours of the working week

cat64 · 01/05/2007 20:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Swipe left for the next trending thread