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?

And I do have a valid reason to be anxious about filling out these forms wrong.
The first time I was given a choose and book appointment for ds I did it wrong. It meant he was removed from list and had to be re referred and it delayed his treatment by 8 months.

Just because someone needs help doesn't mean they are being difficult. Some people genuinely need to be shown things.

Most places are happy to help, if asked nicely. We phased it in and had guides in the final paper newsletter. For people who still can't access it we do paper versions but it's only 2-3 students per class. The people who were arses and all i don't like it why should i use it/you never told me info in the newsletter quickly realised beinh an arse wasn't going to get anywhere

For me there is a difference between 'Can I have some help please?' And 'Here's why i need an adjustment'.

It's like one of my elderly relatives, they often need a seat due to poor health, often needs extra fluids to disolve medicine and need to go to the bathroom regularly. Generally 'excuse me can I use your facilities?' / 'could i have a cup of water please?' gets the desired outcome.
Whereas 'I have X condition so require...' as a starting point is a bit unreasonable.

I always feel a bit off when people go straight for 'but my conditions' when there's no need (and I say this as a teacher with SpLD).

I can't ring bang on 8am when they open because I'm commuting Surely not all train carriages are mobile free these days?

Sorry, OP, just reading through and I see you mentioned that you drive to work. For some reason I always think "train" when people mention commuting, which is silly of me really.

Hope you get this sorted soon. My mum had anaemia, it is a PITA.

To those of you piling in on the OP, I imagine working full time at a commuting distance and having anaemia would leave someone pretty tired and struggling with forms etc

Your clearly my problem is that I only ever use a Dr if I truly need one comment is uncalled for.

That comment wasn't meant as a dig. I just never really visit the surgery - therefore had no idea of the new system and of the extra appointments etc.

I just thought as they told me they had an appointment they should have given it to me - turns out I'm wrong.

I went to register for online and couldn't do it (believe me it is not easy!) - but they did it for me and I'm set up now.

I'm yet to see if it's going to be beneficial to me to because that 1 appointment has gone by then and the next one showing isn't for weeks.

So I'll go Wednesday to my appointment and see what they say and try and get appointments if needed to monitor my iron.

I'm not sure it's considered really bad anyway (10.2) so hopefully they'll just do bloods, give iron, check bloods - end!

The irony is all this came about as I went to donate my much needed O-!

I'm yet to see if it's going to be beneficial to me to because that 1 appointment has gone by then and the next one showing isn't for weeks

So maybe this is why it wasn't mentioned previously - sounds like very few appts actually come up this way anyway?? Only cancellations maybe?

OP you seemed to cling onto the online thing (which was just one appy over a period of several weeks you say) when clearly the problem is actually that they are only releasing a few appts each day which are getting booked up within minutes in the morning - what a crazy system! I thought ours was bad, you can only ever get an appt for 2-3 weeks away, but at least you can get something booked and in the diary! I have no idea how anyone who works is meant to manage that. Can you move to a different GP?

Do you think the appts actually go to people who go and queue up for them in the surgery at 8am?

I did look into moving surgeries. The other one near me has just as bad a system! (Although different)

I think it may be a local problem. A friend of mine said she spent 1hr and 45 minutes on hold to get through to reception just to arrange a triage appointment to see if they'd offer her/ she needed an appointment.

At least my surgery isn't that bad!

That's possible about the queueing. I drive last every morning at 7.45 and there's usually a queue of people 10-15 long by then!

I wonder if a system of allocating a block of appointments one evening for people with chronic conditions who work would help? Perhaps have the same GP who deals with chronic conditions?

Threads like this make me realise how lucky I have been. I have moved alot and, although each one had the ring at 8am bollocks Ive always been able to ring up in the afternoon and get a same day doctor phone call. Then if it's urgent they book you in for that day and if it isn't they book you a later appointment.

I can't believe how difficult it can be for people to get an appointment. No wonder people go to A and E for such minor things now.

Just thought I’d add my comments as a practice manager.

The problem is not simple, demand for appointments has risen exponentially in the last couple of years. We have re designed our appointment system twice in the last 18 months to try and cope with demand and to offer a range of appointments bookable in advance as well as same day appointments for acute problems. We offer evening and Saturday appointments. We have telephone and face to face appointments. The majority of our appointments are available to book online as well as via telephone. We have increased the number of appointments each doctor has every day. We have reduced our waiting time from 5-6 weeks for a routine appointment to 2 weeks. And still it’s not good enough. We get daily complaints from patients which all require a formal response.

Suggestions such as having a block of appointments just for working people with chronic conditions are fine but actually allocating those to the appropriate patients would require the receptionist to ask a lot of questions which, on mumsnet, is not appreciated.

It is no lie when I say I spend much of my working day studying appointment screens to see how many slots we have, now and when they are being booked etc etc.

If someone has a perfect system let me have it. It's really interesting reading all the ideas. Trouble is whatever we do won't suit everybody. We have loads of patients think our system is fabulous. Some who think it's atrocious. I have some people who manage to get appointments every week.
Re online. We don't have that yet as there needs to be an upgrade of the lines to the IT system which is out of our health boards control.
One GP for chronic conditions would not suit everybody. I need more variety in my day. I like the challenge of a new diagnosis.
We are not allowed to stop people booking the 7am slots which are great for commuters but filled with retired people who get up early.

The problem is 1. Lack of funding. 2. Shortage of GPs . 3. The health board telling me they will find a nurse practitioner when we can get a GP for only a little more money. And as much as nurse practitioners can be fabulous and complement the GP they are not a GP and there are a lot of people who don't want to see them.

A practice by us used to have 4 GPs. It now has 2 GPs and 2nurses and it's awful. The senior partner has all the admin to share with only one person not four and as senior partner myself I know I would be burnt out in a few years with that and leave.

There are also GPs who only want to work school times and have the holidays off. That is a problem of a huge rise in female doctors.

Now imagine the problems that causes.

I do feel sorry for a lot of people who can't get appointments. Employers need to be flexible and if people are off too much or always going to appointments then they need to follow correct procedures to deal with this. I am flexible at times but that can only go so far.

I've been a GP since 1991 so I've seen a lot of changes. There are new changes in the Scottish contract coming whereby little pixies are going to appear to take if some of our workload so we can deal with more chronic problems that the hospital's used to deal with and have slowly shifted to us. But the pharmacists, physios paramedics haven't been trained yet or started university.....go figure!

I need to see my GP I hate going to make appointments but I do have a day off during the week.

And receptionists. Mine are lovely. It's been commented on a lot but some have too much power and it's dangerous and that is down to the doctors and the level of risk they are prepared to take. I'm not prepared to take that risk. GP indemnity fees are high enough.

That had paragraphs when I typed. Sorry

I too was unable to donate blood due to low iron but felt ok and still do, years later. I don’t think it necessarily means you're anaemic, just lower on iron than their rules require. I don’t take iron tablets but eat more iron containing foods and take them with fresh orange for the vit c which aids absorption from non meat sources (I don’t eat meat). Iron tablets apparently have side effects. I've heard you have to have a higher iron level than previously for blood donation. I used to donate in the 1970s, with no mention of low iron.

My iron was 10.2. I've been breathless lately and tired but thought I was just fat and unfit and tiredness was due to the fact ds doesn't sleep well!

I honestly would just take otc iron but was told to go.

It's soooooo hard to find the right system. I don't think the helps that on the flip side it's not as easy to get time off for appointments now - employers expect more than your contracted for - not less!

This thread has highlighted many things and opened up an interesting insight.

I'm hoping they'll just chuck me some iron and say to have blood test in 2-3 months to check! (Is that likely?!)

On reflection, if they had given away the online appointment to the first phone caller who asked for it, it would have been gone anyway and the whole business moot. The only reason the appointment was ever empty for you to know about was it was ring fenced thus not given to the previous caller. "Should they have given it to me?" No, they should have given it to someone else already! Either way, it was never actually available to the OP, it just made it appear more available

Musicaltheatremum many good points and useful to hear from the GPs perspective.

I do think though that the 8am calling time is one thing that could be changed. Many people are on their way to work, or taking/about to take children to school, and even with mobile phones, I do not feel it is right to discuss medical details or make such appointments in public. I once overheard a young woman on a bus do this about her contraception prescription.

Earlier would enable more people to call, for certain, but I feel there would be people seeking appointments who to be blunt are just a bit sluggish first thing or have had a poor night's sleep, not an illness requiring medical assistance.

Later, say at 930, might be better. Online appointments should be available to all who want it, as this to me is more confidential than having to phone.

The thing is with the calling time is that 8am is the time that GP surgeries contractually take over from the overnight out of hours provision so anyone acutely unwell needs to be able to call from then. We encourage people booking routine appointments to call later in the day but ultimately we can’t stop them calling at 8.

I do wonder if getting in the queue guarantees a routine appointment for that day? I know 18 months ago I got in queue and got a normal appointment for 9 something am.

It was 8.07 when I spoke to reception. It seems all routine for that day had gone. Just urgent 'sit and wait' available.

That makes me think there must be a very limited amount of on the day available unless urgent and very few routine appointments released daily.

Even online there is only maximum of 2 appointments showing per day per Gp - Max 2 Gp with appointments for the next 3 weeks.

No appointments for next week at all.

Not sure there's any simple solution. I'm wondering if there needs to be some kind of printable paper for those with long term conditions to give to employees. Nothing time consuming for GP but something gave can be completed and printed stating that chronic condition and must be monitored and next available appointment is .....

Our GP has an online booking system. I found this out after three weeks of calling at 8am and being on hold till about 815, then being told there were no appointments left and to try tomorrow. These were not same day appointments, but for 1 week in the future.
So I registered on line and found nothing was available. I went into the surgery at 8am one day to try that way. I stood at the desk with my phone, and showed them that nothing was available on line. They told me there was nothing they could book me either. So I asked how was I supposed to see a doctor. The receptionists all shrugged and said they didn't know.
Apparently the online ones are released at 7pm. So that night I logged on at 7, nothing. Rechecked every 10 mins for 2 hours. Nothing.
Went back into the surgery the next day, explained that I needed to see a doctor and had been trying to get an appointment for three weeks. No joy, till I burst into tears at the desk. I was just so frustrated I couldn't help it. Immediately the receptionist said she would put me on the triage list. Doctor phoned me 10 mins later and booked me an appointment in a few days, at a time of my choosing. So the appointments are available, just kept inaccessible for some reason.

At the moment online I can chose a nurse appointment during a 1 hour slot on 2nd May. Or 1 single nurse appointment at 14.40 on 3rd May. Nothing sooner, nothing with a doctor at all.

I feel your pain. I absolutely understand that the system is under immense pressure, but to be told I can see a doctor today if I phone at 8, hit redial 20 times and receptionist believes it is urgent, or in 6 weeks if it is not urgent, is unhelpful.

I have discovered we have a local private GP clinic locally, and I have to say I’m considering it. Never thought I’d say that.

To the GPs and practice managers on here, why is it that nothing can be done online for minors? Had a minor query about one of the DDs’ medication that I had to make an appointment for and doctor sorted within a minute - but surely that same information could have been given out on an email if I could have registered them?

I’ve only just found out about registering for making appointments online through a chance conversation. When I checked on the surgery’s website it’s just a tiny heading, whereas national news re health initiatives has much greater prominence. Anyway form printed and i’ll be there with my ID on Monday morning.
DH is with a different practice, a single GP, and he can always get an appt or a telephone appt the same day. My large practice usually does ok with the urgent same day appointments if you can sit and wait, but the “having trouble with x but don’t think I’m dying” appointments are much harder to come by. It will be interesting to see what is available once I’ve registered.

The problem with online access for minors is that you are giving access to their medical record. Even children have a right to confidentiality in certain circumstances. It is a data protection minefield.

I registered for online booking/prescription requesting years ago as it was more convenient for me - am elderly (possibly) and quite computer savvy. The thing is it is still an 8 am scramble to get an appointment even doing it online. Sometimes no appointments (even 2 week ones ) are available - so booking online does not guarantee a faster booking.