AIBU to wonder why it has become so impossible to get a Doctor's appointment?

[Bluebananas01]

I remember when I was a child in the 80's, if you were ill you could always get to see the Doctor the same day. I even remember the Doctor doing a home visit when I had the measles. I called up this week to try and get a Doctor appointment and it is a three-week wait (South East).
Everybody seems to talk about there being no Doctors appointments but what is the real reason? Is it just down to underfunding? Are people not turning up for appointments? A sicker population?

Even when I get to see a Doctor it is as if they are trying to get me out of the surgery asap and heaven forbid if you need a referral. Two years ago I went to the Doctors with joint pain, shooting pains, weight gain etc. I told him that autoimmune disease runs in my family and it felt AI as it came in waves (like flare-ups). He pretty much told me I was a hypochondriac. Asked if I exercise (because of the weight gain) and when I told him 6 days a week he told me to take up yoga and sent me packing.

Fast forward to this year when I was going overseas with my husband to his place of birth where it is super cheap to see consultants and have blood tests done. My symptoms had been progressing so I have blood tests etc and saw a Doctor there and discovered that it wasn't all my mind as suggested by the Doctor and that I actually had:-

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (Autoimmune underactive thyroid)
Pernicious Anaemia
Severe Vitamin D deficiency.

How the hell did my Doctor miss so many warning flags about my health? I only ever go to the Doctors for smears and pregnancy so hardly one to visit the Doctor for the slightest sniffle.

It makes me wonder how many other people are being fobbed off and are living with a poor quality of life because their Doctor just can't be bothered to give a proper consultation.

My GPs are all part time. When I pop in to get a prescription the waiting room is often completely empty. If you try to book an appointment then they are fully booked! If you mention something that the receptionist considers serious she will real off 4 different appointment times you can choose from that day!

lljkk
The country is a developing country but must of its Doctors qualify in the US or Europe.

I paid the equivalent of £5 per blood test so about £50 in total as I had a whole array of tests.
Total £30 for Doctor/Endo. I was also given a Thyroid scan.
£6 for B12 injections (10 amps) for loading doses and then every 2 months. Miniscule in comparison to what it would have cost in the UK.
Can't recall the cost of my Levothyroxine for Thyroid but it was minimal.

I've used overseas Doctors in the past as well as paying privately in the UK.
I wasn't entitled to free IVF in the UK so I had it done in Spain and it was 1/4 of the cost in a midrange hospital in the UK. I'm not at all wealthy but do pay for things myself where I can. Now I've discovered Medichecks online I intend to use them for Thyroid blood tests every 3 months.

DH was called in to his GP to discuss test results from the hospital consultation the GP had sent him for. The appointment was cancelled on the day because his GP was unwell.

It took him three weeks to get another appointment. With a different doctor from the one who had referred him.

DD's full blood screening in the UK - about 15/20 tests cost £300ish I seem to recall.

@GregoryPeckingDuck The government keep telling us that the economy has never been in a better state, yet you're saying the opposite is true? Are you telling us the Tories are liars?

(I'm aware of the stats, just wondered if you could confirm the above?)

I live in SW London and not an especially nice part. I can get a doctor’s appointment same day for emergent issues no problem.

I’ve had several referrals, time spent on me etc. This varies surgery to surgery as well as by area.

There are some crap GPs (and in fairness it sounds like the one the OP saw in the first place is one of them) but there are also some good ones

If you have symptoms and are being fobbed off and things don't improve then go back and see a different GP within the practice

Unfortunately pernicious anaemia because it mainly affects older people so many don't test till it's the last thing - they kept repeating my thyroid etc and in the end one said 'well I'll test your B12 but it's very unlikely to be that in your 20s' - it was in single figures

They satisfy local customer expectations to stay in business, regardless of where they qualified.

Give us an idea which income group & approx rank from this list OP? Eg., Kenya is lower middle income group & approx rank = 150 on the wikipedia list. I'm wondering what the same assessment, tests & prescription would have cost you privately in UK, France or USA. I'm guessing about £300 in UK/France. Cheaper than a flight to Kenya. :)

My surgery use technology well too, I can make routine appointments online, request repeat prescriptions online and they are ready at my nominated pharmacy in less than two days.

They offer telephone consultations for straightforward forward stuff (medication reviews etc) and have nurses available for other things.

All female practice all of whom work part-time - I think there are about 6 of them. I will happily see any of them as they are all excellent.

Too many people

Merryold we moved from sw London about 4 years ago. The difference in standards across 10 miles is breathtaking. SW London was mix of v wealthy and v deprived. Leafy Surrey is spectacularly homogenous but standards are rank in comparison.

I live in scotland if i phone my doctor's surgery at 8am 95% of the time i will get an appointment the same day.

To what extent is OP talking about different models of health care, too?
I'm aware that US family doctors can order and have on premises many types of tests that English GP surgeries won't have on their same premises (such as X-rays or blood tests with quick results).

The NHS is very streamlined but not in time (except A&E). For ordinary investigations, it's all specialised & relies on GPs as gatekeepers who only do common routine things on premises. Otherwise there are referrals from GP to X to Y to get anything tested & assessed. Very slow to get tests done & analysed & acted upon.

Please can you tell me what was vague when I told my Doctor that I had been suffering from the following symptoms for a couple of months:

Fatigue
Joint pain
Nerve pain -shooting pains that would jump around my body
Weight gain despite tracking food intake and exercising 6 days a week
That I had been taking strong pain killers for over a week and the pharmacist had told me to see my GP if I needed to take them for longer than 3 days.
I told him my mother had RA diagnosed at age 36 and that my symptoms feel almost autoimmune as my symptoms would come in waves (like an AI flareup).

I was told to keep taking the strong painkillers (Co codamal)
I was told that it was in my mind and that I was just worried because my Mum had an AI disease and I was automatically thinking I would have it.
I was told I need to take up yoga.
When I asked if the pains could be due to something like Fibromyalgia he told me in his words 'he had never heard of it'
Whether my actions after this were right or wrong is not my question. My question is why would I have been treated like this? I can't see that this was an appropriate consultation at all.

As it turned out I was partly correct, I actually had 2 autoimmune diseases, Hashimoto's and Pernicious Anaemia but was sent away with a flea in my ear and treated like a nuisance. I felt very low at this time and should have gone back but it really made me question my judgement. He sowed a very powerful seed that it was just in my mind. I was also scared that there was something seriously wrong with me so in some ways its suited me to take onboard his thoughts that it was all in my mind and to go away and take up yoga. Should I really have to battle with my GP with such a wide array of symptoms? It wasn't as if I went to the Doctors as soon as it started, I had observed and self-managed for two months.
I did take up Yoga.
It didn't help.
Instead of patient blaming, please tell me. Is this good practice?

But those are vague symptoms. And you should have gone back if they didn't improve, that is your responsibility to yourself.
And regardless, I don't understand why your AIBU is about waiting times for GP when it's obviously actually about your thoughts and feelings on this particular GP.

FWIW they sound like a crap GP! Not defending the way you say they dealt with you. But you need to take some responsibility and should have gone and seen another GP.

lljkk
The Country is lower middle income and about 4 hours flight from Heathrow, there are daily flights. We were visiting family anyway and the return flight per adult was £350. It probably would have been around that to see a Private Endo minus the blood tests, scan etc in the UK

I priced up the blood tests that I had done overseas versus medichecks and they charged £99 for TSH, FT3, FT4, Folate, Ferritin, B12, Vit D and thyroid antibodies so not much difference there. Having said that, those bloods through a private clinic would be much more than medichecks charges. I actually wasn't aware of medichecks until I returned,I definitely would have used them if I had thought. In my mind I was thinking that the only way to get my own meds was through a private doctor.Duh!

I wouldn't want to be treated for a life-threatening illness away from home but I'm am certainly not adverse to going overseas for healthcare for chronic illnesses or diagnosis. I found it to be super quick and just only wish I had done it sooner. I go so used to feeling unwell that I was taking much notice anymore, it became my new normal. It wasn't until I started treatment that I thought 'Aha - this is how I'm supposed to be feeling!'

When we worked in a military environment the first person you saw at the Medical Centre was a nurse who could prescribe up to a certain point and then pass it on to a doctor, it worked very well. A lot of the time people are there for ridiculous reasons, a sniffle that would cure itself, or for reassurance especially with children. Pharmacies offer good advice on minor things.

iloveallrainbow don’t be so ridiculous , I’m in my early 50s with multiple health conditions , some of which require daily drugs to keep me alive . I’m as fit as a fiddle and hopefully will continue to be so for many years why should I have to pay for my own care or die when I reach 80 when I’ve contributed to the service .

ijustcannotdoit

I HAVE taken responsibility for not going back. I felt defeated quite frankly, partly because this isn't the first time my health concerns have been dismissed only to find out further down the line that something was wrong. That was my responsibility to return but I felt so low and took on board what he said 'IT IS IN YOUR MIND' and that it was part of ageing and these things happen when your over 40. Every little pain that I felt I just thought 'Ah, so this is what people are talking about when they say everything falls apart after the age of 40!'....then told myself to pull myself together and just get on with it.

I have noticed this too. Like in many other areas, in my region two practices have merged and now cover 20000 patients. How can they deal with that? You are supposed to call at 8am. At 8.01 you are 40 something in the queue.
Anyone who can afford it should make getting privately insured a priority IMO. Boomers are reaching their 70's - if we think the NHS is at breaking point now just wait a few years.

But those are vague symptoms

I actually don't think they are...top symptoms for a thyroid condition....like right at the top, big wavy red flags. Textbook. Of course, I didn't know that at the time as I've never been to medical school....
Lightbulb moment when reading about Thyroids when my brother got diagnosed with Graves disease a few months prior to my diagnosis.

Mismanaged nhs.

It’s very possible here, where unless you’re on certain benefits you have to either have insurance or pay £50 a pop.

Of course, you then have the downsides, such as my friend in tears that she needed a new prescription and had no money, or the week I spent in bed as a child without bowel control and vomiting up even water with just

Oh, and A&E costs more at certain times and on weekends, so if you happen to get hit by a car when the place turns into a drunk tank that’s your problem.

*just calpol

Does your GP in UK yet know you've had this prescription or are undertaking this treatment (I tried to read OP's posts carefully but maybe missed that).

I say that b/c a big part of UK model is 'continuity of care'. The idea that your GP can get a big overview of your conditions & how they interact & affect your life. And then provide a well-informed service to lead to best health outcomes. That's principle, anyway.

I would tell your UK GP when next you visit so they can add it to your history, at least.

Going overseas can lead to poor treatment if people don't give the overseas Dr. all their history or give incorrect info or demand unnecessary procedures for perceived benefits because they can pay for it (admittedly mostly plastic surgery, but looked what happened to M-Jackson's nose). I wonder what long term health problems Martina Big is courting, too.