To think as GP surgery HAS an appointment - they should have given it to me?

[youarenotkiddingme]

So I need to see a Dr.

I know the issue to anaemia as it was flagged a few weeks ago when I went to give blood.

Can't ring bang on 8am when they open as I'm commuting.

It's not an 'urgent' appointment for on the day - which are mornings anyway - and I'm at work and obviously not ill enough to keep taking days off until I'm lucky enough to get an urgent.

So I ring again this morning. No appointments - ring 8am Monday (I'm told) when they release more. except that means usually 20-40 minutes on phone to be told "ring at 8!"

Asked me if I'm online. I'm not registered for this. Ask why.

Because we have online appointments available Tuesday. "I'll have one of them then" say I.

"no, you can only book them online. Come down with photo id, get a form, register for online and then if they are still available you can book it that way"

WTF?

This must make to sooooo difficult for people who don't have the internet or the vulnerable and elderly who can't use the internet.

If they have an appointment I cannot see why they can't allocate it to me?

AIBU?

Well I can't leave earlier or later anyway. I have to drop ds off who can't walk distance.

All I wanted was an appointment I was told I needed to have.

I have it now. Maybe unreasonable for me to want the online appointment - not sure it's unreasonable for me to think I could have had it if I'd known I could get online appointments.

My surgery makes it so difficult to get an appointment that the only realistic answer is to get in the physical line outside at 8am whilst also being on the phone AND clicking the online appointments while you wait. If you are lucky, you will get something. Usually, you will get told that somehow all the appointments are gone. Then no wonder GPs complain they only ever see the "worried well" because people who are actually sick are too ill to book an appointment becuase they cannot be standing outside the surgery in a cloud of second hand smoke for half an hour a day in the hope of getting lucky.

But the way they do it is that you MUST take the appointment allocated to you, so if you go down at 8am and they offer you 9.20 as your appointment time, you can't have 9.40 or 14.00 or whatever, it's 9.20. When I wanted to have the 9.50 not the 9.20 they made my physically swap places in line with the person behind me, then when I came back to the counter they acted like they had no idea who I was or what I wanted, and then they gave me 11.20 for no apparent reason. Take it or come again another day.

There are times I have an avalanche of letters from the GP saying it's important I come in, I must make an appointment to see them it's vitally important, and I try day after day to make them happy by getting an appointment and it's not possible.

All this because you are only officially "waiting" for an appointment if they have taken your details and been given a time, so if you call on 1st and get an appointment for 10th you have "waited" 10 days, which is unacceptable. If you call on 1st to be told there's nothing (but you haven't given your name) and you call on 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. and are constantly told try again tomorrow, then you call on 10th and are seen on 10th, you have "not waited" at all, thus the number of people "seen within 48 hours" meets the target.

Our GP surgery has posters up all over the walls about the online system, yet people still say they “know nothing about it”.

Use your eyes, people.

Heh, i'm signed up to my surgeries online appointments. It's still currently a 40 day wait even that way for the first available app, most of which are with the nurse practitioner. Never mind if you have a gender preference or want to see a specific doctor, for that, you can be looking at 3 months.

* Our GP surgery has posters up all over the walls about the online system, yet people still say they “know nothing about it”.* Use your eyes people

Great for those who've visited the surgery. Not helpful for those of us who actually haven't!

HA! I have an app on Monday i had to preemptively book 2 months ago that i now can't attend. Annoying even more so as this was a reschedule itself from late January. Trying to reschedule so i just checked the online booking and even for a telephone consultation the wait is 28 days (nurse practitioner) and 32 days for the first physical app. For my specific doctor, either a physical app or a telephone app, not until June the 6th. 61 Days, oh my.

Isn't the doctor just going to say take some iron and then get blood retested?
Couldn't you ask for a telephone appointment instead of a face to face one?

I'm registered for our online booking system -I'm amazed that there are any appointments available online that can't be booked via reception,cos on our system there are never online appointments anyway,whereas if you ring up or go in there usually is something.Online,I occasionally find something looking on Sunday evening - don't know what that's about!

But surely,both ways round for this you should be told if a different pool of appointments is available so you can try all routes if you need to?
And that's still not fair for people who might struggle with an online system - they can't all be well known to the surgery with pushy daughters ( as suggested up thread...) !

Info about online management is probably also on their website, as well as on repeat prescription slips and in the surgery.

We are being “encouraged” to get patients to register for online management. It saves an awful lot of time for receptionists as patients can make appts, cancel them, check results, email the surgery, request medication etc. This then frees staff up to do other work.

We also use the text messaging service a lot, as well as text reminders for appts.

Depending how the system is set up the online appts CANNOT be used in the surgery - they are embargoed and can only be filled by patients online, or overridden by a medical staff member not a receptionist. This is to protect those appts.

It sounds like it's a bit awkward and they are trying to phase in booking online to reduce the number of people calling up each day at 8am (which makes perfect sense and would allow more vulnerable people and thr elderly without internet to get through on the phones).

You lost me at the point where you went in saying 'i have dyslexia so you have to sort it for me' though. It sounds very much like you don't like the system so were going yo make a big deal and fuss just to prove some sort of point that you don't like the system.

I have a SpLD and for most people an SpLD doesn't stop us booking doctor's appointment and using the internet. I can't help but feel you're just looking for ways to be arsey

I think a lot of GP appointment systems aren't fit for purpose.

But in the case of vulnerable or elderly patients, like babies, they will be slotted in, if needed. GP's will often routinely make house visits, if a vulnerable patient hasn't been in for a while, especially if no other agencies are involved.

My last GP wasn't good, if you were working age, but you'd see him making house calls from 7am and then up to 8pm.

The key is to phone up before 8am, approx 7.57am, hear the message that the surgery is closed, hang up, then redial. Rinse and repeat until you catch the switch over of the phone system to live answering, when you'll be first on the line. Then you'll get the appointment you need. Also, if the blood service told you that you were anaemic several weeks ago, and you haven't yet seen as doctor, then it probably is now urgent. So you can say "yes" to that question.

sidge I imagine it is all on website, surgery info and repeat requests. Except I don't visit really, don't use website as no need and Ds repeats are for a minor - who can't do online!

Honestly I'm happy to use this system - but I couldn't use the system as I had no idea it existed. I also get I was unreasonable to expect that appointment as likely they couldn't do it.

I also agree that a telephone consult would probably be fine. Except they won't allow that as blood service referred me 🙈😫

I'm not being arsey because I have an spld. I have a great confidence issue with things online and getting the answer right as computers don't allow for human error. I have also just completed a degree on,one whilst raising my disabled child single handedly. So I'm not being arsey and I'm not useless. I just wanted to make sure I set it up properly so I could get a damn appointment that I've been told I need to have.

MN drives me nuts at times. People look at the absolute smallest of details to say someone is BU and ignore the actual question.

I've had the actual question answered by MNer who didn't need to be rude in the process.

But no one will answer my second question that AIBU to think I should have been informed of the system to allow me equal opportunity for appointments? I'm guessing they're aren't because there's no way I. Being unreasonable about that

Maisy I'm REALLY surprised it's you thinking I'm being arsey. You are the teacher who's helped me immensely as I've navigated school and Sen with ds - and the same teacher who's told me repeatedly I sound like one of the most reasonable parents you've met! Goes to show how people make snap judgements.

lougle that may be so! I've just had another period from hell so probably don't have a drop to spare right now!

I don't go to the Drs often so only found out about online appointments recently although they have done prescriptions for a while I think.
I have booked 8weeks ahead for my Gp,told I need to see you in4weeks and again 4 weeks after that.Out to receptionist,no appointment in 4weeks,can squeeze me in at 5(meds I will be trying are for4weeks,no budging from receptionist.So I book that and try to book one 4weeks after as well.She wouldn't do it.
When I went for my appointment after 5 week wait the Dr had to use one of her blocked appointments and put a note on the computer that I need regular follow ups.
My GP is part-time but has a day that she comes in extra to make sure her patients can be seen on time.We are rural and they are 2gps down.
If you need to see a Dr urgently most of the receptionists are helpful and you will be slotted in urgently.

Isn't the doctor just going to say take some iron

Not all anaemia is due to iron deficiency

Don't the surgery have the information about their online system on their website? Ours push it all over their website to encourage people to use it.

I can see how you might not have specifically known that your surgery had this service available with appointments available to those who use it, but did you really not think to have a look at the website to see if there was any way you could contact them online rather than having to ring? If I want to get something done my first port of call is usually the website for the business or service I am using - I imagine that the doctor's assumes that most computer literate people are the same and hence rely on them doing so to publicise the online service.

FYI - I can use my online log-in to order repeat prescriptions for my son - they have a 'notes' section on there which I use and the surgery are happy to take that so it might be worth checking with yours if they have the same system.

Your concern about those who cannot get to the surgery to register is not unreasonable but it is precisely for the benefit of those people that they want to encourage people to use the online system. If you are a hour's bus journey away/don't have the internet/aren't computer literate, then having people who are not in that position using the online system frees up the phone-based system for those who are unable to use it.

I'll be honest it didn't dawn on to to look for surgery website. I've never really thought about Gp surgery having a website. I've always just rang up and asked for an appointment if I need one.

Clearly my problem is the fact I only ever use dr if I truely need one so I'm out of touch with the system 🤦🏼‍♀️

I'm online registered now so I'll wait and see if this is in fact an easier system as I imagine I'll need regular appointments to monitor my iron and blood tests etc.

So you frequently collect prescriptions for your child but you don't go into the surgery often enough to work out that you can book appointments online? Maybe an optician would be beneficial.

Or maybe mornings you could consider that request goes via pharmacy or straight to pharmacy as is common and I've not been 'into' actual surgery reception for a long time. It maybe as usual as your sarcasm?

Useful rather. And as useful as a trip to the opticians would be for me!

I tried to book a smear test a few months ago. My periods aren't very regular, so I need to ring when it has started to be sure of being in the right window. First month they didn't have an appointment that didn't land during school drop-off and pick-up, second month the same thing happened and so I asked how I was going to get an appointment if they were all booked by the time I was able to call - only then did she ask if I could make it to their other surgery (in the same town), where I could book one when I liked! Don't know how many months it would have been if I hadn't asked the right question.

I will add when in their earlier in reception the notice board didn't have anything on it about registering online. It had private services price list, electronic prescription list, information about opening times, vaccinations and also information about it being possible to offer appointments at local community hospital if they didn't have any.
Practice manager couldn't answer why they didn't offer me this either.

youarenotkiddingme
It's not about making snap judgements. People can be reasonable in one situation and unreasonable in another.

I think you're entirely justified in thinking their current set up is awkward to get to grips with (it's often awkward trying to phase in new systems)

Taking the view of 'why can't i just have x appointment? ... and anyway I'm dyslexic so you need to sort out an adjustment for me' is arsey in my opinion.

E.g. last year we transferred all our parent communications to an electronic system.
It was reasonable for there to be teething problems and at first people (staff included) found it awkward but we'd have got nowhere if we dished out paper copies whenever someone was irritated.
What was arsey was people ignoring notifications and then being a PITA because they missed info/didn't bother to check it.

Same for GP set ups.

Well luckily for me when ds school started sims recently they were more than happy to help me set it up. School didn't act as if it was start for me to ask for help at all.

I get that it was unreasonable for me to want the online appointment. I get now why the system exists. What I don't get is why it took 2 weeks for anyone to mention to me that it does exist whilst trying to book an appointment I'm told I have to have and why no one offered me one of the extended hours appointments that they do advertise are offered.