GP practice "not offering appointments"

[Darkestseasonofall]

This is a new low. Just called to make an appointment to be told they aren't doing any for the foreseeable future.
If it's an emergency you can call on the day and try to get a telephone consultation, but that's it.
I can see a huge rise in people attending ED in appropriately or just becoming very ill with avoidable things.
This isn't NHS bashing, I'm a nurse, but I can't understand how primary care can just opt out of 90% of their contract.
AIBU to think this is just silly?

@Quaversplease I haven’t read all of the thread yet but needed to comment on your post (before I forget).

Can you get a pre-payment set up for your prescriptions? Mine costs approx £10 per month. Then you can cancel when back to 6 monthly.

@Inkpaperstars

People needing a smear, if you can afford it, book to get one done privately. I plan to do this going forward anyway, I saw a private female GP for this well before covid and the experience was much better than I usually have at my local surgery.

Yes I'm going to do this albeit having to pay for private gp appointment now so will have to put on hold for month or two . Have private health care through work thankfully but it doesn't cover the routine stuff

@marriageoffigaro that all sounds terrible for you I can confirm that if tests are ordered by the hospital, they are the ones who hold responsibility for the results and the discussion with you.

Our surgery had to do this, if you could get through, as the majority of the staff were self isolating.

With my go there is no longer a facility to book online and phones aren’t answered

On the Plus side, repeat prescriptions are processed at lightening speed

I live in a low coronavirus bit of England.

I had my "over-50s MOT" with the practice nurse last week. Another nurse was doing flu jabs and a couple of doctors were working (possibly on the phone - there weren't patients in the waiting room).

The nurse had to wipe everything down after I had gone, so I can see why doctors would prefer to try dealing with a patient over the phone first.

We have had a number of calls with hospital consultants and doctors since lockdown - it works really well for us - much better than sitting around for hours in a waiting room.

FFS !!! It is NOT all GPs , this is horrific. SOME GPS are doing this. I am not saying this isn't happening and it is utterly wrong that it is. If everyone carries on with the sweeping levels of abuse seen on this thread - the crap doctors will be ALL any of you will be left with with because the ones if us who work bloody hard and care more than you can ever know cannot take this level of hatred and abuse and will have just walked away. I am soooo bloody close to doing so after 20 years of giving my everything anyway. On this thread so far the accusations levelled at the entire profession based on the bad experiences of the most vocal, if widespread and continued will destroy primary care quicker than covid. If you really think any service will be improved by the destruction and loss of the most dedicated and passionate you are very sadly wrong.

@Didiplanthis

FFS !!! It is NOT all GPs , this is horrific. SOME GPS are doing this. I am not saying this isn't happening and it is utterly wrong that it is. If everyone carries on with the sweeping levels of abuse seen on this thread - the crap doctors will be ALL any of you will be left with with because the ones if us who work bloody hard and care more than you can ever know cannot take this level of hatred and abuse and will have just walked away. I am soooo bloody close to doing so after 20 years of giving my everything anyway. On this thread so far the accusations levelled at the entire profession based on the bad experiences of the most vocal, if widespread and continued will destroy primary care quicker than covid. If you really think any service will be improved by the destruction and loss of the most dedicated and passionate you are very sadly wrong.

So get angry at the people in your profession letting it down. Don’t get angry with the people who are having to fight for the basic level of care.

People shouldn’t have to sit back and accept inadequate care just to protect the feelings of others in that profession.

Ours won't do routine appointments so unless you have something that needs to be dealt with on the day you simply cannot access care.

DH could do with going in for a chat about his meds, not something that can be done over the phone as he needs me to be there too. Face to face is really what we need.

I could do with chatting to the GP about my psoriatic arthritis symptoms but because they referred me to a consultant a couple of years back, who basically sent me packing, I cannot do this just now, despite things getting worse.

DD has joint problems, as it's a diagnosed problem with a treatment plan so they do not want to hear from us on the phone service whereas a routine appointment would be quite helpful just now as other joints have started to cause problems.

People are saying this isn't happening, it really really is. You can call on the day and be triaged and the doc will get you in if they fee they need to, if not they will prescribe over then phone or send you away with a flea in your ear. None of the things I want a GP for warrant 'on the day, needs to be seen' so basically we do not get seen.

@Didiplanthis
Quite. The sweeping generalisations help noone. No wonder GPs are leaving the profession in droves and medical students are loathe to enter.

@ButiLoveHim32
I got the distinct impression that our GP surgery nurses, who are really on the front line, still seeing patients F2F, blood tests etc were a little annoyed at the GP’s sitting in their ivory towers, when I recently went for a blood test, there was certainly frustration there!

Gosh, lots of GP bashing on here. I'm sorry to all of you not getting the care you think you ought to be getting, but seeing the GP "for a chat" puts the vulnerable and old people who sit in a small waiting room at risk. It simply isn't possible to run a GP service as before, with cramped and overflowing waiting rooms. Nurse appointments , phlebotomy appointments, GP appointments for clinical examination, all these need to happen face to face. But to the poster above who complained that she needed to be there when her husband spoke to the GP -put the phone on loud speaker? By sitting in the waiting room with lots of other people who HAVE to be there, you are adding to the risk for everybody. It's a really difficult balance to strike and I'm sure GPs don't always get it right, but I can promise you that they are all busy at he moment, trying to provide care in fairly difficult circumstances.

[quote DrFoxtrot]@marriageoffigaro that all sounds terrible for you I can confirm that if tests are ordered by the hospital, they are the ones who hold responsibility for the results and the discussion with you. [/quote]
Thank you

I think it’s more the PTSD thing I need help with, but no one seems terribly interested in that and I suspect that’s because there’s nothing they can do . Best friend is also a GP and she’s been explaining what she can meantime too, in terms of likely next steps and treatments .

Hopefully I hear back from the hospital soon. Even at consultant level they’re very quick to say, ‘I don’t know’ so it’s maybe just one of these things that isn’t very common/not well understood yet .

GP friend is struggling immensely and absolutely exhausted, as our board has decided now is the best time to do a massive reorganisation and change to contract. I do feel for her - and all GPs.

It’s just the most horrible, horrible feeling when you’re alone with a HCP, nude from the waist down, you tell them you’re scared and they say they don’t really care, and you know that no one else is prepared to Lauren . It’s bloody awful .

*listen - not Lauren ! No idea where that came from !!

Not seen any sweeping criticism of gps just criticism of NHS staff who are using Covid as an excuse to give a shit service and “ work from home” indefinitely.

As has been shown quite clearly plenty of gps, nurses and other NHS staff are rising to the occasion and offering a great service.

Some aren’t. It’s appalling and it’s quite right that it gets highlighted and discussed.

Who says anyone has to sit in the waiting room? My surgery had people waiting outside and we had to ring the bell at our appointment time and whomever we were seeing came to collect us. There’s a coveted porch bit so when it was raining we were fine.

I'm sorry to all of you not getting the care you think you ought to be getting, but seeing the GP "for a chat" puts the vulnerable and old people who sit in a small waiting room at risk. I

Oh for fucks sake I didn't mean a chat about my fucking day or the weather. I am talking about a justified discussion with a GP about a word ending medical condition. My DH needs to discuss his meds. He IS the vulnerable person in the waiting rooms. Read what I said before jumping on the terminology

About a worrying

But to the poster above who complained that she needed to be there when her husband spoke to the GP -put the phone on loud speaker?

That was me. I could put the phone on loudspeaker all day long, it's not a 'needs to be seen on the day' so we would t even get the phone call

By sitting in the waiting room with lots of other people who HAVE to be there, you are adding to the risk for everybody.

You judgement that my disabled husband and I do not need to see a GP is really awful. My husband is the vulnerable person in the waiting room who HAS to be there.

My next dermatology check up is over the phone ......

Mine are doing face to face with PPE if necessary and phone consultations as much as possible. There are actually more appointments as the GPs on calls aren't waiting around for people to get in and out of the room, lateness etc. You get a slot for a phone call.

Exactly Anne. One of our practices has some waiting outside and some in the socially distanced waiting room I have still only experienced 1 other patient waiting with me at a time.

A lot of things are done via the phone so there is less footfall and patients more than happy to wait ( as you do for buses)until told to come in. When you do it’s temps, gel and masks with waiting rooms set up with gaps between chairs and wipes for the nervous.

These are big practises with high levels of oaps. Couldn’t fault it. Had loads of phone appointments. Sent 3 lots of photos. Had several face to face appointments, bloods and a small procedure with gps and nurses.

And yes it has been easier to get things sorted.

I have rang for an appointment, had a link for photo sent, sent it, had GP look at it and send prescription electronically to chemist within a couple of hours.

I have booked GP phone appointments ahead, spoke to gps on the day if necessary and on one occasion after a look at a photo called in an hour later in same day. Blood results back within 2/3 days. Our service is much better now.

It can be done and is being done.

@xtinak

My GP is doing appointments. You call, someone calls you back for a phone appointment, and if it's a face to face issue you go in. It works better than the old system to be honest. I don't understand why some places are managing to operate and others not. Could it be a dodgy receptionist not painting an accurate picture?

Same as my gp.

Also my gp are doing blood tests again. Depending on weather they will try and take bloods outside.