To be fucked off with the doctors situation

[StopFancyingPeople]

I’m so sick of the fight to get a doctors appointment. It never used to be so difficult and now it’s near on impossible.

I rang at 8am on Monday like you’re meant to. Automated message .... press 1 for appointments ... I press 1. I then get a long automated lecture about Coronovirus and then get told to press 1 again if I still want an appointment and have no symptoms of CV. I press 1. Automated message telling me the lines are very busy and press 1 for a call back. I press 1 and head off to work. They ring back at 9:30 when I’m upto my eyes in it at work and can’t answer the phone.

I try again Tuesday. Same kerfuffle with the automated messages. I request a call back and head off to work. Get a call back at 11am by which point there are no appointments left.

I try again yesterday. Same old shit. No appointments left by the time they ring me back. I lost my shit a little as I feel so Ill. I need to see a fucking doctor. It shouldn’t be this difficult!!! They sympathise and offer me an appointment ... for the end of March!!!!

I’m barely functioning. I’m incredibly fatigued, constant headache, nausea, anxious mess and not sleeping. Yesterday I could barely stay awake whilst driving home. Last night I went to bed do fucking tired that I woke up in a pool of my own piss. I didn’t even wake up for a wee. 2nd night in a row that I’ve wet the bed.

AIBU to call dr again today, make up some shit just to get an emergency same day appointment?! I don’t even feel that I should need to make shit up, I think I genuinely need to see a Dr today.

The annoying thing is, when you do by some miracle of god get to see a GP they then decide you need a blood test. Now god forbid the GP do this test there and then ... noooo .... you’ll have to make another appointment for a nurse to do it and good luck getting that within the next month or so.

It’s ridiculous. The system is fucking failing.

Also, as a nurse I see this from other people’s points of view too. A woman made up an excuse to come to my clinic last week. When she got there she asked me to diagnose something she had as she’d been trying to get a dr appointment for 3 weeks and has all the ducking symptoms of cancer. I could not help her, she needed to see a GP 3 weeks ago.

charging for appointments and missed appointment wouldn't work or be fair

Especially when you can't get through on the phone to cancel an appointment because you've been unavoidably detained at work or by miles of stationary traffic following an accident, both of which have happened to me.

GPs do 90% of healthcare in the UK for 8% of the NHS budget

Good grief, I had no idea that the budget share was that small! No wonder primary care is in crisis.

I think GPs and practice nurses do a fantastic job and I take my hat off to you all.

I've tried 3 times in as many months to get an appt for me or a child. Using the app. Only specific nurse clinics are ever available, which if you don't want contraception or asthma care isn't helpful.

The ring back service doesn't work - it gives you 'The ringback service is not available on this call. Goodbye' and hangs up. The docs say its BT's fault, BT say it isn't.

The only way to get an appt is for me or DH to walk round and explain the issue to a receptionist, who will either arrange a call or an appt.

The receptionists are lovely, but can't magic medics up from nowhere!

If you're in the middle of a heart attack, stroke, severe bleed or burst appendix then it's reasonable to expect to be seen within 2 hours. Thinking a UTI should be seen in that time is crazy. Clearly you've never had to organise anything in your entire life if you think that a sub-2 hour appointment should be possible like this for every minor ailment. What even would be acceptable to you, 1 hour? Or just throw anybody else out of the surgery because you've shown up and you're the only person who matters?

DS has been very poorly. We couldn't get an appointment at the surgery, so ended up having an out of hours one a few towns away. The antibiotics he was given haven't done anything, so we saw a gp on Tuesday, after being in the phone queue for half an hour just to speak to a receptionist. I was told to bring him back this morning and to book at reception on the way out.

Receptionist said no. Ring on the day. Despite a Dr saying he needs to come back.

I rung this morning, after 45mins I got through and all Dr appointment have gone. But I'm allowed to see a nurse. DS is type 1 diabetic with a chest infection, raging temp and we're battling high blood sugars.

FireUnderpants
The nurse will call the doctor in to see DS. Often, taking the nurse appointment is the best way to get seen earlier.
When I worked in GP, if I was worried about a patient I could just send a little message via the computer and the GP would either come to me, or ask the patient to wait until they could see them at the end of surgery.

The practice nurse at my surgery told me that any GP practice with more than 6 doctors isn't allowed to cap the number of patients registered, but under 6 drs and the caps are based on ratio. Is this true? Only it's nigh on impossible to get a gp appointment at my practice currently, but one local surgery is closing and the 3000 patients are being dispersed to other surgeries. Watching on Facebook, apparently all surgeries have closed their books apart from 2 - my surgery and the 1 other health centre. These are the only 2 surgeries with more than 6 drs.

If what the nurse told me is true, then these 2 surgeries will have to accommodate the 3000 patients, but that isn't the worst of it. Currently we have 2 huge building developments going on which are likely to have thousands of extra people. What on earth will happen then? Will these 2 surgeries have to accommodate 1000s of extra patients when we're barely able to see a Dr now?

As someone with a serious health condition this is terrifying. I know that my care is suboptimal as it is and my health is suffering because of it. I'm likely to end up losing my job because my condition isn't being well controlled. I need to be able to stabilise my medication which I can't do because I can't get to see a Dr to adjust the medication in order to get the right balance, I have side effects from the drugs which are making the situation worse but again can't get to see anyone to address this.

This really infuriates me. If we can't actually get to see drs to get the medication that exists to treat these conditions then they need to change the way we access these drugs.

Doctor asked me to bring in D's for a follow up appointment, two weeks before his long term antibiotic runs out. I rang up today to book him in and they said they can't book it in. I have to ring on Monday and even then they cant guarantee an appointment. So why ask us to come back ??

Thank you fir everything you do @bobbypinseverywhere and I echo @Hulabalula 40 hours is not part time!

A huge thank you to all the medical people on here. Many of us do appreciate you and I’m sorry it seems you only hear the noise from the not so nice end of the spectrum

Whilst I get that government lack of funding is a huge problem, I echo many previous posters here that the worried well clogging up the system - and arguing or complaining if they don’t like the medical response - is a massive issue. You could pour all the money in the world at the problem but while a generous portion of society keep wanting medical support for what turns out to be non-issues it will be a bottomless pit. Not sure what the answer is though? Perhaps a nominal charge for appointments?

Are there any walk in centers near you? I don't do it myself but if my little boy is ill and I can't get a GP appointment I take him to the walk in center and sit and wait. But yes it is a nightmare to get an appointment unless you go in person and queue to get into the surgery before it opens at my doctors. Also they are not good for people who work as if you can get an appointment it's always in work time. Though it is getting slightly better. Our surgery now has an out of hours hub at the local hospital outpatients center on a Saturday and Sunday.

I wonder how many appointments are "wasted" due to misdiagnosis by GPs? My OH was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. He'd seen a succession of different GPs for a couple of years before that for pretty debilitating issues, and had each just patted him on the head and basically told him there was nothing wrong with him. In the end, it was a locum who put two and two together, ordered a different blood test, which led to a cancer unit referral. Once we knew what it was, all his ailments pointed to his specific type of cancer - we could almost tick off his symptoms against the text book. When a previously healthy bloke who's not been to the GPs for years suddenly starts turning up every few weeks, you'd think they'd realise he wasn't a malingering "worried well" wouldn't you?

We are quite lucky in that we can get same-day appointments most of the time with our GP, as well as our pediatrician for DS. If it's not that urgent, generally the lady at reception will try and sort something that's convenient for me.
I've got a gynaecologist, who does scans and blood tests at the surgery. Appointments are also quite easy to get if you ring up.
We are also pretty lucky with OOH. Last time DH needed to see someone on a weekend and we had to wait a total of 10 minutes to see the doctor.

However, we don't live in the UK anymore, so no NHS. We have public medical insurance, which is compulsory for anyone above a certain income.

I've been with 2 different Gps in the last year and both are fantastic. My DC have been seen on the day if needed and I booked an non urgent appt within a week. NHS 111 has been excellent at booking out of hours appts too.

I know that's not the situation in most places. We have not long voted for more of the same with a Tory government. One that has slashed funding to the NHS, social care, and in particular for mental health. Our countries health is poorer as a result of austerity. This is no surprise to those of us working in health care. I am surprised we keep voting for more of the same....

I phoned 111 a few days ago because of a bad kidney infection they wanted to send an ambulance

I couldn’t get a GP appointment for 3 weeks.... now need to have internal and external scans to see if I have any kidney damage

Ds 10 has infected eczema... I can’t get a GP appointment until end then of March... called 111 who advised to see a GP.

In the end had to call his consultant to get some antibiotics and cream... as they’ve delayed his treatment and due to his compromised immune system... he’s at risk of sepsis.... receptionist not interested even after requesting a GP call back... as the computer says No

And I’m never really one to complaint about the NHS... but the above just took the pi&£

Haud, I hear you. It is bad you can't see someone and nobody cares.
It will only get worse though and if this coronavirus gets much worse too , then we will all be completely done over as the NHS and the GP surgeries are stretched already.

@HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend DO complain about the NHS. That treatment is not ok. complaints from patients make a difference. You can say you are happy with the treatment once you see a doctor even, but the wait us unacceptable. Write to your MP and tell them you are not happy. If you want a functioning NHS we need to fight for it. People don't seem to believe it will be left to rot before they declare it will be privatised but that it what is happening.....

People don't seem to believe it will be left to rot before they declare it will be privatised but that it what is happening.....

Thing is that most GP surgeries are private businesses - they're owned by the partner GPs who make profits on top of their "wages". So, most GP surgery provision is already privatised and has been since the NHS was first formed.

@user1497207191 I fear the same about these 'walk in centres' we are pushed towards when phoning our gp surgeries. We have to listen to a lengthy recorded message along the lines of "if you are experiencing difficulties making an appointment did you know you can go to xyz walk in centre and see a dr without an appointment." I can imagine a time will come when a charge will be made for this and people will pay instead of a month wait at their gp.

@user1497207191 yes I aware GP practices are privately run. We are not paying a fee on top for them though. They are funded via the NHS with a set amount of money allocated for each patient.

What happens in the rest of the health service and social care has huge knock on effect for those managing frontline general practices...

YANBU. I have struggled to get one for the past year really. Manage to sometimes get my kids emergency ones if I ring and ring and ring. There are never any online either. I've even tried pharmacies but sadly with things they can't help with. Quite worrying.

yes I aware GP practices are privately run. We are not paying a fee on top for them though. They are funded via the NHS with a set amount of money allocated for each patient.

Which is the problem - they get paid "per patient" whether they see them or not, regardless of number of appointments, so there's no incentive for GP practices to put on more staff and create more appointment slots.

Personally, I think dentists, opticians, pharmacies, etc work better - where there are subsidised fees under the NHS, exemptions for old/young, etc., but where they're paid according to work done/items dispensed, so they're incentivised to open longer hours and give better customer service, to get more custom via competition etc.

Which is the problem - they get paid "per patient" whether they see them or not, regardless of number of appointments, so there's no incentive for GP practices to put on more staff and create more appointment slots

Sort of. We are paid per patient - about £100 per year for everything apart from rent/mortgage. The average patient sees a GP or nurse 7.5 times per year. So the practice gets the princely sum of £13 gross per consultation. That compares with about £45 per call to NHS 111, or £90 just to walk through the door of A&E, even if no treatment. Most practices actually lose money on patient consultations as it costs a lot more than that to run them. It is unsustainable.

So the issue isn't so much that GPs aren't incentivised to have more staff, it's that (a) most practices can't afford to and (b) there is a massive shortage of GPs. My practice offers a good salary, but we still can't recruit.

What I find bizarre is the way the public hold GPs personally responsible for the shortage of GPs. When you go to A&E and have to wait, do you blame the A&E nurses? Or, if you have to wait to be seen in Outpatients, do you think it's the consultant's fault? GPs may run their own practices but we have no control over how much we get paid by the NHS or over the availability of GPs to recruit.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50467776

Doesn't seem like the dental system is much better tbh....

Personally, I think dentists, opticians, pharmacies, etc work better - where there are subsidised fees under the NHS, exemptions for old/young, etc., but where they're paid according to work done/items dispensed, so they're incentivised to open longer hours and give better customer service, to get more custom via competition etc.

Well, no. They're "incentivised" to up-sell. Opticians, like vets, are a nightmare: each consultation is a time-limited opportunity for them to try to sell you additional products or services as it's the only way they can stay in business. I'm very glad GPs don't have this kind of incentive. I have very little to do with dentists but I know many people have doubts about whether all the treatment they recommend is actually necessary.