This is why people don’t bother to go the the Drs for screening etc

[MrsDylanBlue]

Had Mirena replaced a few months ago.

Started new full time job about same time.

Forgot to go and get it checked. Then last month my cervical screening reminder came through.

Got around to phoning the GP today to try and kill two birds with one stone and do both in the same appt.

I need to book a day off and book an appt as I have a job which involves booking appts with clients.

No cannot do that and I have to phone for an on the day appt for both and they have no proof I have had a Mirena so will need the Dr to instigate appt.

Why the fuck would I go and have a Mirena checked thatcI haven’t had fitted?!

To sort this issue (and I was perfectly polite) I need to phone the practice manager tomorrow.

WTAF? It’s such a hassle to get an appt I hardly ever bother but I always get screened.

At my doctors the phone lines open at 8:45, close for an hour at lunchtime and then close for the day at 5pm. It normally takes 20 mins or so for them to answer the phone and tell you that there are no appointments at any time and you have to phone back tomorrow to try and get one. I have no idea how people who work ever get an appointment.

It does my head in as the last thing I want to do is waste my GPs time.

I also do not wish to waste my own time!

And yes the keeper of the gate was defensive while I was polite.

I mean FFS ... while you are down there etc..

YADNBU!

Ridiculous not to check mirena, and then do smear. I don't understand GP surgeries that are so weird like that (or how they could not have it on your records that you have a mirena).

My GPs surgery has 2 really good GPs. I was booked into one today and got pushed onto the other luckily.

I need my bloods checked every 6 months, but there's been an admin error so no one has put the appropriate note on my file. The GP I saw today literally went through everything and told me to a) contact the practice manager because they'd screwed up and b) precisely why no one had ticked the right box.

Mainly because the first cock up lead to another cock up which lead to a third cock up and I don't fit the right description. Though they don't know that because of the cock ups.

For 2 years I've had to use a GPs time for something that should be printed out automatically for me. I have my fingers crossed that from now on all I have to do is pop in for my bloods form bet I won't though, I'll still have to waste their time

Also I am due a smear, I can only book them 2 weeks in advance though. Fair enough you'd think, but it seems everyone has the same cycle as me and I'm 3 months into no available appts

Jesus, don't get me started on GP appointments.

At our surgery, it is either same day appointment (phone at 8.30am) or routine appointments which are two weeks away.

I start work at 8.30am. Do they expect me to stay at home on the off chance that they might offer me an appointment? I had a fairly serious issue a few months ago and only managed an on the day appointment with the nurse.

The whole system sucks and it is doubly worse if you work full time and have an ailment that isn't life threatening but needs to be sorted within two weeks.

MrsDylanBlue - don't cut your nose to spite your face. You won't be costing "them"more in the future but every taxpayer and, more importantly, you and your family. There really aren't enough nurses, doctors, appointments. Many services have been cut to the bone. Family planning clinics included.

LadyWithLapdog
I am trying to book an appt to get two things in the same “area” sorted at once?!

Contraception information doesn't automatically get relayed from the family planning clinic to the GP. The patient has to tell us what their "usual" pill is if it was started elsewhere.

MrsDylanBlue - no, you said you could stop bothering going for smears and that could potentially cost "them" more in the future. Presumably by not picking up disease at an early stage. It's late and maybe I didn't get your meaning correctly.

I didn’t go to the FPC I went to the same GP I am trying to book the check up with!! Xxx

And am well aware of the cuts. I used fine n a sexual health clinic which was closed down.

Another practice nurse here.
It’s bit archaic but is to do with who is qualified to do what.
When I did my smear training ( many moons ago) we were told very specifically that the course did not qualify us to do a coil check. We could however make a note that we had “seen coil threads”.this was delivered with a bit if an eye roll because it a bit daft.

Basically this IS a coil check - ensuring the threads are visible, nothing is protruding thru the cervix. It’s possible that if no threads were visible then you might have to be referred for an ultra sound which officially has to be done by a Dr so I guess that was the thinking behind the “rule”
If I were you op I’d just go for the smear, if threads can be seen and you haven’t hadn’t issues with coil then leave it at that.

I've given up trying. I rang my doctor's up at the beginning of this week for an extended appointment as by now I have accumulated 4 physical issues that need looking at, but I still cannot get an appointment. I cannot have time off whenever and am heavily restricted by my work. All of the issues bar one will need a referral from my own GP (two are blood tests related to chronic issues) and walk-ins just wouldn't do that.

So I will wait until my body caves in and they will HAVE to see me somewhere. Prevention may be better than cure, but prevention rarely happens anymore around here.

So that's why I won't book my smear: I can't even get seen for any more urgent issues.

My doctor runs the same ‘on the day’ appointment system, and it’s because of the ridiculous number of no-shows for prebooked appointments. The fault lies with rude people who can’t be arsed to cancel them.
The issues of no appointments for a couple of months etc is really not an issue, in the sense that most cervical issues are slow growing. Just go in when they can see you.

Dobby you can have a smear at any point in your cycle as long as you’re not actively bleeding. There is no longer a need to aim for mid cycle. That outdated advice is still being bandied around though.

Those of you unhappy with GP provision should take a moment to read this:

Dear Readers. Occasionally, a colleague comes up with a moment of brilliance which deserves sharing. Dr Nash, a fellow GP, has come up with a rant of such eloquence that it deserves a wide audience. She describes the current situation which primary care is in far more politely than I ever could.

"Unhappy with your GP?
Write to your MP.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this at a practice level.
We cannot recruit any more GPs.
We cannot fund any additional staff.
We cannot work any longer hours and be safe (bet you didn't know that I often leave work around 11pm and have left at 2am before). My 'part time' 5 session (ie 20h) is approaching three times that in reality.
Why do you think we're running late? (Genuine question - I'm interested to know what people think we're doing.) It's because people come with lists. It's because 10 minutes isn't enough.
It's because people use appointments that they don't need when actually self-care and time and patience will do the job perfectly well. The human body is designed to cure a lot of things itself, especially infections.
It's because we're interrupted, quite legitimately, by phone calls from palliative care nurses wanting to discuss medication urgently for the dying patient; by ambulance crews called inappropriately who are asking us to take responsibility for patients not being taken to hospital; by the coroner asking us for information to try to prevent a bereaved family having to wait for a postmortem before they can arrange a funeral; by nurses who need us to give a second opinion on something that they're already gallantly managing beyond their duty; by urgent prescriptions that need signing because the patient didn't plan properly (we all make mistakes). I could go on.
We get brought tea because otherwise we wouldn't drink anything for 5h at a time - morning surgery typically is 4.5-5h, with patients every 10 minutes.
Each patient is not just a symptom. They are people with problems, with lives and responsibilities, and we try to treat them holistically. In 10 minutes.
It takes the frail old lady 2 minutes to undress so we can examine her, another minute to get up onto the couch, another couple to put herself back together again. That's half the appointment gone.
We could do longer appointments, but would have fewer.

I really do understand the frustrations of the general public - remember I have a family too, who occasionally need to see a doctor.

But. We are working flat out. There is a reason that there is a shortage of GPs. There is a reason that no one wants to train as a GP.

If we were genuinely working 9-5 on >£100k then why would there be a recruitment problem?

No one wants to do it because it's a draining job, very heavy on workload, and we are demoralised and constantly berated by the press and portrayed as lazy and money grabbing.

If you have ideas on how it could be done better then please share. Genuinely. We are all out."

Oh and I know it’s difficult to fit appointments around work but sometimes you have to prioritise your health, such as Narkles example above.

Why wait until you have multiple issues requiring more urgent intervention? Maybe leave work early, owe the time back, take a half day annual leave? I know it’s not always that simple but I wish people would stop with this “I work 24/7 and my employer won’t let me take time off or out.” Surely managers should understand the difficulty of getting appointments themselves and be more flexible? After all you’ll need a lot more than a couple of hours off if you become more unwell or injured...

Too many people won’t adjust their lives to fit preventative health care into it and then expect us in primary care to move mountains to accommodate them. (I’m not saying this is you Narkle, but it is true for many patients we see).

And with almost 1/3 practice nurses due to retire by 2020 the situation isn't going to get any better. I'm a practice nurse with only a few years left (thankfully) and have no double appointments for almost two months.
Seconding what the others say. Just book your smear and tell the nurse you have a coil.

Wow, your surgery is rubbish, or has a rubbish needlessly complicated system.

Make me realise how lucky I am to have a surgery we a smooth appointments system.

Good luck getting it sorted op

Good post Sidge

*I do wonder what some people think annual leave if for. They seem so put out to have to use it for health appointments. A/L is not just for the Costa Del Sol.

And we all know that it takes 2-3 weeks for a routine GP appointment, but surgeries offer on-the-day appointments for more urgent matters. That's how it is. Some people do not actually need to see a GP and waste appointment time. Some people don't turn up and waste appointment time. Some people are seriously ill and need longer appointment time so you are waiting longer. Stop complaining. Try a Pharmacist first to see if they can offer over the counter help.

*not aimed at anyone in particular, just a general rant.

Thanks sidge. That helped me finally get an appt. Just got to hope I don't have a short cycle now eek. Fingers crossed.

Yup, what a pain.

Our GP receptionists are awful, it's like they're doing you a massive favour. Renowned for it locally.

Dobby hurray!!

I've done smears for women at the end of a bleed and luckily managed to get a good sample. My advice would be to go anyway unless you're bleeding heavily as 9 times out of 10 the cervix can be clear of blood. The modern technique (liquid cytology) seems very efficient at separating blood cells from cervical cells.

I am always happy to 'have a look' as long as the woman is happy with that, because as long as I can see the cervical os clearly and it isn't full of blood I can take a sample.

I have occasionally done smears during a period too sidge
I usually just warn that it might come back as an inadequate sample but they never have.

Sidge - I’d happily leave work early. But they only ever offer me 1130am. That involves a whole day off which just ain’t going to happen. I need my annual leave for childcare.

I can’t book leave on the chance I might get an “on the day appt”

I think the receptionist has got it wrong personally - I have ALWAYS had to book in a smear.