To think this is ridiculous if impossible (NHS appointments)

[itsgettingweird]

So just taken DS (15) for dental check up.

X ray showed needs very small filling on a back tooth. (Please no comments on this it's due to genetic condition which can affect teeth and not hygiene or diet)

Go to book appointment at reception.

Say mocks for next 3 weeks starting Monday so can only be after school during this period and really needs to be after school as not supposed to take them out for dental appointments (especially as he's year 11).

Tell me first appointment available is in 4.5 away anyway.
Ok.
But a) it's daytime and b) he has a consultant appointment 20 minutes after that time 20 miles away.

They have nothing else available until new year and closed over Xmas period. (Fair enough)

But here's where it's stupid (IMO!) they MUST under NHS guidelines do any treatment within 8 weeks.

So within next 8 weeks they are closed for 1 and only available appointment is impossible. So when I say either give me the one 9.5 weeks from today you have (just needs to leave school 30 mins early) or you'll have to find an appointment in next 7 weeks before you close they say they can't. Literally say they cannot do treatment!

So when I say fine - give me practice managers name, local contact for NHS and I'll ask them and MP for help they give me the appointment in 9.5 weeks.

AIBU to think if you must have treatment in a timeframe they are responsible for creating an appointment in the timeframe and not to blame patient because they can't attend the only 1 appointment they have available?

Welcome to the mad world of NHS appointments.

I've heard and read on here how bad places are but this is the first time I've come across it!

I was just stood there like a lemon thinking "what exactly am I supposed to do or say?"

So you want them to create extra appointments out of thin air? They’ve offered you an appointment which you can’t do? You can attend during day for the other consultant appointment?
Mocks can be caught up with if it’s not the actual real exam.

Their staff may not be able to work extended or extra hours to suit people who refuse the appointments offered to them.

"MUST under NHS guidelines do any treatment within 8 weeks. "

I think this means that they must OFFER to do any treatment within 8 weeks, not that they MUST do any treatment within 8 weeks. What if someone refused?

It's a really quick thing, a filling. Just get the first available morning appointment and take him.

The problem is how do you expect them to magic up appointments?

It’s not ideal but unless someone provides them with the funding to employ another dentist then I’m not sure what you want them to do

Poppies how can I attend another consultant appointment? They also have timeframes! Plus this is consultant and not dentistry So is more urgent!

I didn't want them to magic up an appointment! I told them if they couldn't offer one in timeframes they sat then that wasn't my fault and they needed to create one if they deem it necessary!

Im annoyed because they said they couldn't do treatment outside of 8 weeks. But literally had 1 appointment available in that timeframe which we can't attend.

I wanted/ was happy with (and eventually got) the one 9.5 weeks away.

YABU. Are you aware of what's currently going on with the state of the NHS?

9.5 weeks is a relatively short wait to be fair. I was referred in January to have 3 wisdom teeth surgically removed (they're damaged, they've crumbled due to a combination of medication side effects and pregnancy apparently), so not a tiny filling, and my initial assessment appointment with the dental hospital is December 6th, never mind how long the wait will between assessment and surgery.

If you want to pick and choose an appointment at a time of day and a time scale that suits you, pay to go private.

Where do you expect them to magic up an appointment from?! How can you demand they create you an appointment - in what room, with what dentist?! They're already at capacity!

YABVU if you can't appreciate that appointments have already been booked, and that the system can't just create an availability for you because you've stamped your feet!

The OP isn't expecting them to.magic up.appontments. She is happy to take the appt 9.5 weeks away but the dental practice won't let her have it as this breaches their target of offering treatment within 8 weeks.

I had a similar issue with a hospital appointment for complex dental treatment. The appt offered was when I was on holiday so I rang up to rearrange. I was told that I had to have my appt within 12 weeks but that was the only appt they could offer me within that time. If I turned it down I had to go back to my dentist and ask for a fresh referral. Which was crazy.

Eventually the secretary advised me to accept the appointment even though I would be abroad, then phone up 2 weeks beforehand to rearrange it. This would mean they had fulfilled their target of offering treatment within 12 weeks and could then offer the appointment as a cancellation to someone else. Which is what i did

Ring up in a couple of weeks and book an appointment in the new year.

This was sorted out by the time you left. It is really not that big a deal.

Orange read the thread. I was happy with the 9.5 weeks appointment. They were originally refusing treatment as it's not within 8 weeks. They only had 1 appointment available within the 8 week period which ds can't attend as he has a consultant appointment elsewhere.

Lady it's an example of a bigger issue. Set treatment periods with no appointments available to meet that. So the answer being to refuse the treatment. To tell a patient it's their fault they can't attend a non existent appointment within a timeframe is going too far - even with the current state of the NHS!

I had a really painful chipped tooth that the NHS dentist, GP and emergency dentist wouldn't fix for months. It was cutting my tongue badly, so I called ONE private dentist, and got it fixed that afternoon. It only cost £40 and I wasn't even a patient (though I am now). Private dentist also discovered that a medication my husband takes regularly was messing up his mouth acidity and causing problems that NHS dentist told us were no problem. Just go private. Our kids are free under 16 anyway.

Confront wish I could afford private!

I think a lot of posters are missing the fact you were more than happy to take the appointment in 9.5 weeks but it was the surgery who initially refused to allow you to book it simply because it was outside of their 8 week window.

I certainly don't think you were unreasonable or demanding. If they wouldn't allow you some leeway and only offered 1 appointment in their 8 week period then its hardly fair to just assume you are able to take that 1 option.

I'm glad to hear that someone finally saw sense and offered you the appointment in 9.5 weeks.

Is this a new thing? The last time I needed a filling was a couple of years ago. Every time I was booked in it snowed so either me or the dentist couldn't get in. It was about 12 weeks before I actually got it done.

I don't think YABU OP. Yes, they can't magic up appointments but you can't magic up extra hours in the day either.

I’m finding it hard to believe you’re being serious here and not on the wind up.

If this actually happened then you’ve really embarrassed yourself in front of the dental staff and anyone else in earshot.

They offered an appointment within eight weeks, you declined it. They fulfilled their end of the guidelines.

I think i'd change my dentist - I had to cancel my appointment recently due to being stuck in traffic & they offered me another appointment for the same day - it was only a check up!

I have worked for the NHS for some time now, and originally began as a booker for the Paediatric outpatient department - so the above situation is one that all of the staff were quickly acquainted with. NHS guidelines state that once a patient is referred for treatment, they must be seen with 18 weeks of the referral date. There it is decided the course of action for the patient, e.g. discharging back to the GP, a follow-up, referral to another consultant, or they are referred for diagnostics, where they are placed on a 6 week referral to treatment pathway.

It is often difficult to schedule in demands for the parents on their exact time scale...unfortunately, with government underfunded health scheme's like the NHS, clinics can be very limited - as well as the fact that the consultant / nurse / dentist etc. are entitled to annual leave so may not be present for the dates you was looking for - half term is a good example of this. (I have actually spoken to parents that have complained about the consultant being allowed annual leave at all!)

Given that your child is in what I'm guessing is their final year of school, it is completely understandable that it is crucial they attend as much school as possible, however, clinics cannot always be set up on a 24 hour basis for the benefit of making everyone happy. It is give and take, and although the date / time they offered you was not convenient for you, they did still offer an appointment.

What I used to suggest to parents was ringing up every few days or so to check if there were any cancellations, or ask if they have a "reserve list" where they can put your child's name for any last minute appointments that may creep up within the time frame you desire and they can call you to confirm your attendance. Understandably this is a VERY tedious process but sometimes you have to make do! However, saying that, if you make a big enough fuss sometimes consultants will give in and extend their clinic...

I think i'd change my dentist

Many people can't get an NHS dentist at all, let alone a choice of two. You're fortunate to be in a position that most are not.

As a teacher, I understand that there will be times when a pupil misses a mock exam. We make allowances for that and arrange a different time for the pupil to sit the mock.

How do you suggest they 'create an appointment'?

FFS read the thread people. Let me make it simple for you all:

Dentist: Your son needs to have treatment by X date. Here's an appointment.

OP: Sorry, no can do, got mocks.

Dentist: Well we have nothing else before x date.

OP: That's fine, let's do it after X date.

Dentist: Computer says no.

OP isn't being ridiculous here, the inflexible NHS system is.