To think that we should cut doctors a little slack sometimes...?

[Latitia]

Now I'm not talking about doctors who are outright rude and obstructive. I know they're out there and there will always be people in every profession who don't act in an appropriate manner.

I'm talking more about not shouting and making a fuss when the doc is 30 mins late (could have been dealing with a child who can't tell them what's wrong or an emergency), or because they don't agree with your 'google diagnosis' and refuse to prescribe the medication you think you need etc etc.

I was in the kitchen at work the other afternoon and some colleagues were making comments such as 'what do docs even do in between patients anyway, faff around?' Etc. I just find it all a bit mad. My father is a gp, and whilst he is clearly a very good one, the abuse he receives is heartbreaking. Bricks through his windows for not prescribing tramadol, screamed at because he's running 20 mins late due to an emergency, hate mail because he cancelled his surgery because his car was entirely snowed in and tailbacks of 30 miles. He gets this almost every day.

Do our doctors maybe deserve a little more than this? Or am I being too soft simply because he's my father and I hate to hear of people abusing him...

My HCPs are definitely not rude and my surgery has it's fair share of challenging patients.

@Latitia I do think it needs to change as I spent one anxiety filled weekend after receiving this text on a Friday evening:

"Your full blood count had come back- make an appointment with the doctor."

When I finally got to speak to someone on Tuesday morning they told me the rest hadn't been carried out as someone had labelled the bottles incorrectly.

The people in my surgery are kind but I would say mistakes happen on an alarmingly regular basis. I didn't want to make a suggestion for them to change anything as I don't think they'd appreciate any kind of criticism and to ask them to change their whole system may be a bit ambitious.

I think I appreciate my GP more since having to go private for some specialist treatment- I've been paying a small fortune for tests at a private clinic and they've been utterly shambolic and the receptionists are rude and sneery.

@ParkayFloor I would be anxious about that too.

You'd be surprised at how much influence patients can have on systems such as these though. Even if it resulted in them wording the text differently. Always worth a shot!

dunno what they do between appointments, must be magic that the dr knows who I am and my medical history when I walk through their door. {eyeroll)
Well I get that, and the eye roll & sarcasm would be totally justifiable... Except, this wasn't BETWEEN appointments.

I got held in traffic, had called to say I might be a minute late and they were standing in reception DURING my appointment time telling reception to cancel it. I had 8 mins of my appointment left. (Common sense would have been to see me but then at the end of my appointment wrap things up)

Why is it so hard to understand that total jobsworths in any line of work are irritating & it's possible to find them irritating whilst still being perfectly polite?

Hang on a minute waves, so you are saying I'm right then. They won't be on call during the private sessions. So they have a choice about when they are on call. They chise to be on call during their NHS clinics but not their private ones. That doesn't smack of prioritising their patients and having no choice to me. That smacks of compressing all their NHS work to the detriment of the patient to free themselves up for their private work. How laudable.

DH doesn't pay again for a long apt, he pays for an apt at a convenient time, that he doesn't have to spend 25 mins on the phone for, that doesn't get shifted at short notice and to ensure he is seen on time and doesn't have to deal with the shouty hags on reception.

The GPs at our surgery are on the whole lovely but the way the surgery operates is absolutely shambolic and affords zero respect to the patients and their time.

Can someone tell me why it is easier for me to call the dr Dr very important and the dr to call me Raindrops rather than Mrs Sparkles. I believe in equality and it shoukd be non negotiable that it's either Dr Jones/Mrs Sparkles or John/Jane. It certainly shoukd never be "dear"

Not one GP at our surgery is full time. When I was growing up all the drs at our surgery were full-time, they were all equal partners and not one would have dreamt of calling my parents by their first names. Oh and they had an on call rota out of hours. No 111, etc, if a patient had an emergency their family dr attended.

Sadly I think they are less respected now because they do less to earn the resoect they used to have. Someone upthread said 50% of households contribute to the NHS. That means 50% do and many of those are happy to subsidise the 50% who can't but somewhere aling the line the fact that the NHS is not free for all or at all has been lost on those who work in it.

I used to work in healthcare.

TBH, I would say it is my main reason for pretty much hating people now.

It was often the ones you were already bending over backward for who would whinge and bitch.

Never again.

No one should be telling at any one.

However I have waited for an hour and a half befire for my appointments.

There is obviously the chance it's been am emergency and that's fine.

But the receptionists or the practice manager really need to do something about the patients who treat it like a family social event and take up space in the waiting room and the up the gp witg multiple complaints. If you have nore than one or two things book a double appointment.

My old go had a terrible system where you had to check in with the receptionist which meant if there was a queue and someone was arguing or not understanding you were still waiting when it was your time slot.

Thankfully it's all touch screen now so far better.

Then of course there was the person arguing witg the receptionists so when the buzzer went to say the room was free they couldn't send the next patient in as they were busy talking.

Eventually they got the Drs to come out

I swear the Drs enjoyed playing the game at my old practice. Even on baby clinic day when it was noisy and packed they'd come out and practically whisper your name. God knows how many people missed their appointments because they didn't hear anyone cone out.

And what's with being ignored by the receptionists for ages and then being told you are late when you were stood there all along

I'd never about at anyone but neither are all drs amazing. I've met some fab nhs staff. Bit I've also been patronized ignored stared at like I just bit the head of a puppy and rushed out befire I've even had a chance to ask a question.

IAmNotAWitch
But you could say that for any public sector line of work.
I regularly bend over backwards for children and families at school. Most are awesome. Some are totally ungrateful and entitled. But I don't let them put me off.

Some teacher's can be miserable and unhelpful. Most are great. But I would expect parents to understand that the josbworths are not representative of the whole group.

Same with doctors and HCP. Most are wondeful and hard working. Some seem to act like seeing people is an inconvenience.

Drs are leaving the profession in their droves, their aren’t enough GP’s any way. Where are on earth do you think duty Drs are going to come from, unless you’re a qualified dr with years of experience and could volunteer??

My old Drs too at one point wouldn't allow you to book appointments you had to call up at 8 and hope for the best.

Meant that non urgent things took up appointments and I always felt really guilty.

It also offered no clinics or back up so when dd was Dx with asthma I was literally handed another inhaler and left to get on with it. No support no advice nothing.

My friend is a practice manager in a deprived area . She is dreading one of her doctors retiring this year as she has been unable to recruit anyone . There are 12 GP vacancies in the town. The only solution may be to amalgamate practices leading to longer waits for an appointment. Doctors no longer want to be GPs.

I pay my taxes so I’m actually their boss and they should do as I demand. GPs should stop whinging when we complain and expect high standards from them. Public sector shirkers!

.... unfortunately this is how some people think, often those with little actual responsibility themselves. We should show everyone respect and our default should be to give people, including GPs, the benefit of the doubt

miaow

I didn't have one as bad as that but dd2 was on prescription milk. I called up and 're ordered the repeat as I usually do. Dr had put three 900g tubs of aptamil pepti on at a time and I'd never had a problem. So I went to boots (who had the repeat service) to pick it up and I get handed 2 of the small time of cow and gate pepti.

Which dd refused to drink.

I can cope witg a mix up but they basically made me out to be a liar I had to go ok to see the Dr who kept telling me they hadn't had it on their system so she couldn't have had it. Really cos she had been on it months

Eventually they decided I wasn't lying and that it must have been taken off when they system was updated and they hand wrote me a script. For a milk that apparently had never been prescribed

Certainly don't think the demanding because one pays one's taxes is right but the construct that the NHS is a free service fornwhich we should all be truly grateful however it is delivered is sadly misplaced in the 21st Century. It is paid for by the people for all of the people and no human being deserves to have to feel grateful for it. FWIW I do think early and late apts should be pre bookable for commuters. If I wait 8 weeks for a blood test at 8am I really really don't expect a retired person to be there waiting for one of those slots. I am already an hour late for work at that point and a non wlrling persone can be as easily accommodated at 9am. Evidently they have early routines and don't like them being upset

That retired person could’ve been caring for grandkids while their children work so needed an early slot or fitting in an appointment at the only time someone can drive them there or they could just have other better plans for the day . Just because you’re retired it doesn’t mean your time is no longer valuable. You all have the same right to that early appointment.

I don't agree gamerwidow. Work is an essential commitment. Like a mother, a grandparent can take the children with him or her or arrange for after the school run.

GPS do not work for the Nhs though?

No they don't. They are self employed to provide NHS services.

On the whole my gp, and the surgery staff, are excellent, friendly, kind and warm and very helpful. I had to see a different Gp a couple of weeks ago though for my ds's six week check, and she was awful. She barely looked at my ds, told me off for him being hungry (and therefore grumpy and crying) when we'd been waiting some time for the appointment, and just had no warmth towards me or baby. She wrote things into his red book notes that she hadn't checked, And then when I said I was going to breastfeed him in the waiting room before I took him home she questioned if I really wanted to do that, and made me feel very uncomfortable.

I got out into reception with my now howling ds, having been stripped off, poked and prodded and had a light shone in his eyes, he wasnt happy. The lovely receptionists pointed me to the baby change room which had a nice armchair in it for feeding, and brought me a glass of water, bless them. But why couldn't the Gp have mentioned that room? Or at least been supportive of my breastfeeding.

@RaindropsAndSparkles think you may be using this thread to air your own issues with GP's & their staff. Maybe time to change surgeries if it's that bad! I think you may actually be one of the most entitled loonies I have came across on MN. You want GPs & their staff to get your prescription to you in their own time because your job is more important. Get a grip.

@user1510568216 I wasn't going to say anything...

When they are 20 mins late and I'm the 2nd appointment of the day then I find myself being hmm to myself.

Really? So, what if my Mum was patient no 1. Finally went to the doctor with the cough which had been bothering her, drove herself there, was generally feeling low, and cough was dragging her down, but she wouldn't have driven if she hadn't felt well enough. GP listened to her chest and phoned an ambulance, got all the paperwork sorted, phoned hospital to expect her etc etc. She had pneumonia, by the end of the day she was in intensive care and was in hospital for 5 weeks.

Or the time when the whole surgery was running 60 minutes late, because one of the first patients of the day had collapsed and the GP was doing CPR as they waited for the ambulance, the receptionist told the waiting room that someone was ill and as they carried the person through on a stretcher, people were complaining about the delay.

Is it so hard to imagine that a GP may have been dealing with an emergency? Or that he had to do a follow up phone call as a result of last nights surgery, and it took 20 minutes instead of 5? Or that reception had asked her to do a call back to someone that should have taken a few minutes but turned out to need more, and she had to deal with it?