To support the NHS but...

[AudTheDeepMinded]

Think that sometimes people's time and money is wasted due to needless stupidity?
Two recent cases in point. Few months back received a letter regarding son's flu vac. Great, I'll book an appointment. Rang local surgery's overloaded telephone system, as requested, spent flipping ages in a queueing system. Eventually reached a real person to be told flu vac apps not yet available for booking. What a pointless waste of my time and their resources! Why not either send the letters out later and/or include when the bookings can be made? It's not rocket science is it?
Last week I received a letter to make app for son's jabs. Went into the surgery the next day. Queued up, spent a good few minutes sorting out a suitable app with receptionist. Went to app today to be told that son had to be two weeks older in order to get the jabs. Great, this info was not on the letter and the receptionist had not been trained to check. So I wasted their time, my time and the nurses time we were attending.
When you hear how overstretched the NHS is it is so frustrating to feel that I have unwittingly contributed to wasting much needed resources. So AIBU?

I should clarify re patients not turning up to apts- these are apt’s made with the person when I sit in their home and for which they also receive a letter that I personally write and send. Still have days of 5 people not turning up which when each apt is 1hr isn’t great.

I wonder if anyone here, that works in a healthcare clinic could explain this reasoning to me. Got the usual letter, saying when the flue jab is. Unfortunately it’s first come first served. My youngest has SN and needs bloods taken regularly, her bloods are due to be taken around the same week as the flue jab. I asked the receptionist if they can both be done at the same time, like last year. ‘Nope, the doctors have said that only the flu jabs can be given at that time, and nothing else, as the nurses are too busy.’ Now I understand that they’ll be busy, but how does it help them be less busy, by having to make a separate appointment for her bloods, which the nurses do anyway? So instead of taking my child with SNs, autism and recent epilepsy to the nurse, to have needles put in her, in one appointment, I have to do it twice. 😟

Ahem! Flu not flue, she’s not a chimney.

PositivelyPERF I can’t speak for all surgeries obviously, but where I work we have dedicated flu clinics.

They’re set up so each appointment is for say 5 minutes, and we ONLY do flu vaccine in that clinic. It might be run by an HCA so they can’t do anything else, or it might be that it’s in the afternoon so we can’t do bloods as the courier run to the lab is done by 1200.

I totally understand where you’re coming from wanting to get it all done in one appointment (I also have a disabled daughter) but generally speaking it’s just not set up for that.

I recommend making an appointment for the bloods and saying “whilst we’re here can she have her flu vaccine?” rather than trying to book bloods into a flu clinic. I am more than happy to do that and regularly do the flu vaccine whilst I’m seeing patients for other things as I can incorporate it into my 10 minutes slot.